


say you’ll remember me

by MyStriderSensesAreTingling



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Athletic Trainer Iwaizumi Hajime, Bottom Oikawa Tooru, Brazil Fling (Haikyuu!!), Clubbing, Drunk Sex, Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, Feelings, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, I Don't Even Know, Jealous Kageyama Tobio, Jealousy, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Pining, Porn with Feelings, Pro Volleyball Player Hinata Shouyou, Pro Volleyball Player Kageyama Tobio, Pro Volleyball Player Oikawa Tooru, Slight Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Smut, The Author Regrets Everything, Top Hinata Shouyou, the old spiker switcheroo, with a flash-bang brazil fling in the middle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:07:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 57,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28210644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyStriderSensesAreTingling/pseuds/MyStriderSensesAreTingling
Summary: Hinata left for Brazil at a very inconvenient time. Kageyama had just admitted his feelings for him, three years too late, and in a few hours he would be on a plane to South America. This leaves both boys hurt and heartbroken. However, when he reaches his destination, Shouyou finds solace in a familiar face, and they’re drawn to each other like polar ends of a magnet. But is it love? Spite? Lust? Or a mix of all three?Years later, when Oikawa appears in Japan in the months leading up to Hinata and Kageyama’s fated match on opposing teams, Kageyama slowly realizes that whatever happened in Rio, didn’t quite stay in Rio.Luckily, he’s got Hajime Iwaizumi (25) Athletic Trainer on his side, and it just so happens that they want the same thing.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou/Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 53
Kudos: 210





	1. sunshine boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagehina angst because I like to watch people ✨suffer.✨ Also I’m not exactly sure where this fic is going. Like I am, but I’m not, so strap in for a wild ride because it’s about to get terrible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty short, so I apologize, I just thought it would sort of ease you into it before it got all SMASH BANG WHOOP AAAAAA you know? Anyway, enjoy!  
> (Also please leave comments, and kudos if you’d like, I love hearing your feedback)

  


“You’re D1? Already?”

Here came Sunshine Boy, shimmering in all his glory as he jumped up and down, unable to contain his energy. Tobio watched him, so bright his eyes began to hurt from staring.

“You should’ve expected it, dumbass,” Tobio grimaced. He expected Hinata to be disappointed that he wouldn’t be going with him — Tobio would have been, if their roles were reversed — but instead, the boy was happy for him.

“Say you’ll remember me,” Hinata said, eyes bright with fascination. “When you go pro!”

Kageyama stared at him for a moment or two, his expression unreadable for a few moments before he rolled his eyes.

“Of course I will,” he said. “How could I ever forget the dumbass who swore to beat me on the court? You still haven’t done that yet, you know.”

“Just watch me,” Hinata grinned, face full of the determination that Tobio loved. “You won’t even see me coming!”

Kageyama didn’t reply, instead sending him a challenging smirk in response. He’d always admired that about Hinata. His determination and perseverance both as a teammate and a rival had pushed him to farther limits than he’d ever expected. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when the casual admiration turned into an unbearable crush, then to what had to be love, but he’d been feeling it for almost two years now and the weight of it was starting to become too much. He’d never been good at expressing his emotions, so what was he supposed to say to Hinata? Where would he even begin? He wasn’t prepared for the rejection he was sure he would face, and if on the incredible chance his feelings were returned, Hinata would be on a plane traveling to the other side of the globe in April.

Over the next year, he let himself get swept away in volleyball, traveling all over Tokyo with the Adlers and the ever-stoic Ushijima. Though they’d proven to be a good pair, and Ushijima had all the technique Hinata didn’t, Tobio still missed the shorter boy greatly. Sometimes he’d lie awake at night, setting to his ceiling, hoping Sunshine Boy would rush in and spike it over the net, but instead, the ball just landed squarely on Tobio’s face.

They texted and called frequently, far more frequently than Tobio communicated with the rest of his old team, but it just wasn’t enough. Tobio missed him so much it hurt. During matches and practices, he could just let his head get swept up in the game, but immediately after they’d finished, the lack of a particular ginger-haired boy at his side as he walked home was disheartening at best.

How was he supposed to explain his feelings when he couldn’t even see the other boy? It was like a weight that pushed down on his chest that got worse and worse with each passing day, and by the time it became unbearable, it was already April. Hinata would be gone. For the next few years, at least. Luckily, they were close enough to home that Tobio had the opportunity to visit.

He rang the doorbell, which was answered after a minute or so of waiting. He hadn’t even given the boy a warning. So when Hinata opened the door, made eye contact with Tobio’s chest, then slowly drew his eyes up to Tobio’s face, the taller boy didn’t know what to say.

“Um,” he fumbled for something, anything. “Surprise?”

The boy’s shocked expression turned into radiant joy — so radiant, it was blinding. He lit like a lightbulb, just like he had when he hit a really good spike, or when he blocked a seemingly impossible ball. His smile grew to the size of several universes, all on one perfect face.

“Kageyama!” Hinata yelled, jumping into him and proceeding to wrap his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist. Tobio felt his entire face heat up as he wrapped his arms around Hinata as well. This was a terrible idea. But he had to go through with it. It was now or never. No matter how much he wanted to stay here forever, hold him as close as he could, Tobio knew he couldn’t.

“Hey, dumbass,” he mumbled quietly into the shorter boy’s neck.

“I missed you so much,” Hinata hiccuped, and Tobio realized that the other boy was crying. “I — I can’t believe you’re here right now. Is this a dream?”

Tobio chuckled. “No, it’s real. I’m here.”

And I’m never letting go, is what he wanted to say, but he knew he couldn’t. As if reading his mind Hinata pulled him closer and said,

“Are you leaving again?”

Tobio sighed. “I kind of have to but,” he moved one of his hands to tangle itself in Hinata’s soft, clementine hair, which smelled the perfect mix of sweet and citrusy. “I wish I could stay, I’m sorry.”

Hinata buried his face into Tobio’s neck, and he could feel the wetness of his tears. “Don't be sorry. I mean, the best setter in Japan has got places to be.” He shook his head, then stared back up into Tobio’s eyes — the brown earth meeting the blue sky — and tilted his head to the side. “Why’d you come visit, anyway? It’s not like I’m on the way anywhere.”

Tobio sighed again. Here it was. He set Hinata down, but rested his hands on the boy’s shoulders. Hinata waited patiently as Tobio took a deep breath. This was a terrible idea. He’d thought about all the things he was supposed to say — he’d prepared a whole speech — but he couldn’t remember a single thing, except for one.

“Shouyou Hinata, I love you!” He cried, watching as Hinata’s eyes widened. “I’ve loved you since — since forever, it feels like. I don’t even know when, or how, or why. All I know is that nobody complements me like you. I still love volleyball, but setting isn’t as satisfying when I know I’m not setting to you. Ever since I left I’ve been missing you, and it hurts,” Tobio realized he was crying only when a teardrop hit his shirt. “It hurts so bad. I need you.”

At Hinata’s stunned silence, Tobio loosened his grip on his shoulders, placing a hand on Hinata’s cheek.

“Hinata, please,” his voice quieted, tears glistening in his eyes. “Stay with me in Japan.”

Hinata leaned into his touch, his expression full of sadness. He began to sniffle again.

“Do you have any idea how selfish you’re being?” He looked up at Tobio through his eyelashes, sending a stabbing pang throughout Tobio’s entire being. He took a shaky breath, his voice rising.

“You’re telling me you’ve loved me back for years now, and you’re just now admitting it as I’m about to leave for the airport?!” Hinata cried. “You’re so stupid, Bakageyama! I love you too, damnit!”

He punctuated those last five words with five angry punches to Tobio’s chest, which Tobio took with shame, but also with hope. He — he loved him too?

“You do?” He asked quietly. “Since — since when?”

“I don’t know!” Hinata sobbed. “My life feels so empty without you in it. I wanted to go to Brazil because I hoped I could find love for volleyball again, but it’s like everything I do reminds me of you, and it sucks!” He sniffled. “And it’s not because you suck! It’s because I can’t have you and you’re never here!”

“I’m here now,” Tobio said, as if this weren’t obvious. However, this seemed to bring Hinata some sort of nerve, and he took the both of them by surprise.

Hinata yanked him down by the collar of his shirt, their tears mixing together as their lips met in a frenzy. Over three years of pining led up to this, and it was like an explosion of everything the two of them had been holding back, amplified to the maximum. It felt so good, but at the same time it hurt, it hurt because Tobio knew he wouldn’t get to feel it again for a long time. Maybe ever. It hurt because maybe if he’d confessed earlier instead of running like a coward, they could have worked something out. Going Pro was his dream, it always has been, but he’d never thought about how much it hurt to do it without Hinata. When they broke apart, they were breathing hard, both now struggling to hold in their tears.

“Say you’ll remember me,” Kageyama said softly, staring into Hinata’s watery eyes with his own. “When you get to Brazil. Don’t you dare forget about me.”

Hinata scoffed, wiping his eyes with a sad smile. “You have no idea, Kageyama, but you’re impossible to forget.”

They stared at each other for a few moments longer, their lips still tingling with the kiss they’d just shared. The breeze ruffled their hair, and Tobio felt like he could watch the word turn in Hinata’s eyes. He could stare at them forever, but alas, he wouldn’t get the chance.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn’t move to answer. Hinata’s eyes drifted down to the source of the buzzing, and Tobio gave in. He sighed when he saw the Caller ID.

“It’s Ushijima,” he grimaced, then proceeding to decline. He pocketed his phone, then returned to looking at Hinata, who was staring at him in disbelief.

“Did you just — did you just hang up on Ushijima?”

Tobio snorted humorlessly. “He probably forgot how to charge his cell phone or something.”

Normally, this would illicit a laugh from the ginger, but instead it was just a small chuckle.

“You have practice soon, don’t you?”

Tobio panicked, checking his watch and realizing that, yes, he did have practice. Very soon. Ushijima was probably wondering why he wasn’t there.

“Shit. I’ve gotta—”

“Go, I know,” Hinata finished for him, smiling at him sadly. “But it’s okay. We can’t be together right now, or maybe ever, but we’ll just have to wait and see.” He seemed to strengthen his resolve, and Tobio watched as some of the old Hinata returned. “But I will keep my promise to you. I’ll stay on the court longer than you someday, and for that to happen we’ll have to meet again.”

Tobio nodded, somehow finding a smile of his own. “I guess we will.”


	2. a familiar face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shouyou meets somebody he didn’t think he’d see for a while in Brazil. What Shouyou doesn’t realize until later is that said somebody needed him just as much as he needed him. They spend the night together, and neither of them want to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is about to be incredibly soft, and if you’re a Kagehina > Oihina shipper, incredibly painful. Enjoy.

God, Shouyou regretted coming to Brazil.

His roommate, Pedro, who was nice enough, hardly spoke to him. He didn’t know any Portuguese, even though he had tried to learn before he’d arrived. He understood enough to get around, but talking to people was a hassle, which majorly sucked because that was Shouyou’s specialty. His part time job wasn’t much of anything, even if it got him by, and when he went out to eat he was alone and he felt incredibly isolated looking out at all the other people enjoying themselves. The only thing he enjoyed much was volleyball, as usual, though he wasn’t much good at it out on the sand. He’d practiced a few times with the locals, but jumping on shifty ground proved to be exponentially more difficult than jumping from the wood floor. There was also the fact that he didn’t have anybody to set for him.

Adding salt to the wound, Kageyama’s words played over and over again in his head.

“Shouyou Hinata, I love you.”

“Stay with me in Japan.”

“I need you.”

“Say you’ll remember me.”

Ugh. As if he could forget.

He’d been in love with Kageyama longer than he could remember. He couldn’t recall the exact moment the rivalry turned into infatuation, but did remember how it felt. It was like running, chasing, taking a leap of faith with his eyes closed, then spiking a set all the way on the opposite side of the court. He evaded the blockers, there was nothing stopping him, but then—

The ball was out of bounds, and he was falling, sinking, until he’d landed flat on his ass.

That was Shouyou Hinata’s experience with love, described in terms he could understand. He’d reached the peak for just a second before it all went to shit.

Yet, an unexpected familiar face made an appearance, and Shouyou could physically feel all of his depression rolling off of his shoulders. He felt like he could jump again, like he could fly, because finally, there was somebody here that reminded him of home.

That person was Tooru Oikawa, and he’d made a slick job of asking Shouyou to dinner without the idiot even realizing until the other was paying for their meal. They’d talked a lot about their experiences here, volleyball, what Oikawa was doing in the Argentinian League, and just genuinely enjoying each other’s company. Shouyou never in a million years thought he’d be in this position, so he was surprised at how easily he seemed to settle in with Oikawa. 

“Ramos is our ace, I’m sure you’ve heard of him,” Oikawa rolled his eyes, irritation turning down a corner of his lip. “Obnoxious as all hell. Incredibly annoying to set to. It really makes me miss my team back in Japan.” He eyed Shouyou curiously, and tilted his head to the side the way a puppy would. “You know, I’ve always wanted to set to you. Not that I would have ever traded Iwa-chan for anybody, but having to watch Tobio-chan set to a powerhouse with such incredible raw athleticism,” he smirked ruefully at Shouyou, “I’ll admit, it made me a little jealous.”

The ginger could feel his face start to heat up. He couldn’t tell if Oikawa was flirting with him, if he just had that sort of lilt to his voice, or if it were both. Either way, Shouyou expected to be intimidated, but instead he felt strangely emboldened. He knew he couldn’t forget about Kageyama — not ever — but Oikawa might be just what he needed to get past this block in his life. Admittedly, he too had always wanted to hit one of Oikawa’s sets. The prospect of getting to play volleyball with the Great King already had him itching to go.

“Let’s go back to the beach, then,” Shouyou offered, smiling brightly. “People are always there late at night. Maybe we can find somebody to play against!”

———

It was clear Oikawa hadn’t played volleyball on the beach much before, if at all.

Shouyou waited in anticipation to receive his renowned jump serve, only to watch in slow motion as Oikawa jumped, stumbled, and then fell on his shoulder onto the sand, looking dumbfounded.

Shouyou couldn’t help himself.

He doubled over in laughter.

“Hey!” Oikawa scolded, his face going slightly red. “Volleyball’s in the name, but this a totally different sport! I’m a beginner, here!”

“I get a real sense of supremacy from you,” Shouyou replied, smirking as he offered a hand to help him up. Oikawa took it, brushing himself off with one hand while the other lingered in Shouyou’s for a considerable amount of time. Shouyou felt . . . comforted by the contact. It was strange to think it was Oikawa’s hand in his, but at the same time, he felt like he’d made the right decision, coming here. He could tell Oikawa felt the same, because he made no move to extract his hand from his, instead, taking both boys by surprise by intertwining their fingers further. Shouyou felt his heart start to race in his chest.

“You know,” he started. “For a while, I was really, really depressed. I wasn’t sure if I did the right thing, coming here.” He looked up into Oikawa’s eyes to find that their arrogance had taken on a gentler, knowing light. Shouyou smiled. “But after meeting you today, I feel a lot better.”

Oikawa tilted his head to the side again, raising an eyebrow. An amused sort of grin fell onto his face as he said, “well, then, maybe you should treat me to dinner, next time.”

Before Shouyou could manage a reply, as Oikawa had absolutely just asked him out again, two men approached them on the beach, asking for a game. Shouyou felt his competitive side start to kick in over the soft feelings he had previously, and Oikawa’s response was similar. It was game time.

———

“Well, that ended poorly.”

After they’d bought the Buy-Me-Beer brothers their drinks, the two of them were walking back from the beach, covered in sand with matching grins on their faces. They’d lost, but they’d had a good time. Playing with each other was a totally different dynamic, and Shouyou truly felt like he was playing. It wasn’t a life or death situation, not a soaring win or crippling loss, it was just fun. Despite their urge to win, watching each other fall and miss the ball was an amusing experience, and they’d had their fair share of laughs at each other. Shouyou snickered to himself, remembering the way Oikawa had yelled at the wind.

“Whats so funny?” Oikawa feigned irritation.

“You yelling at the wind,” Shouyou replied truthfully. “That was really funny.”

“Hey! You were struggling too!” Oikawa poked his cheek with a sandy finger, and Shouyou brushed the remaining grains off with his sleeve. Feeling bold, he chose his next words carefully.

“That just means we have to practice more, right?” Shouyou looked up at Oikawa with a sly wink, and even in the darkness, Shouyou could see the color rise to his cheeks. However, the taller man smirked back.

“Guess so,” he said. He cleared his throat, “so, about that dinner . . .”

“I’d love to take you,” Shouyou said immediately, almost too quickly. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s just . . . I’ve been so lonely lately. It’s nice to have somebody around who gets it.”

Bravely, he sought out Oikawa’s hand again and took it in his own. Their fingers intertwined once more, and Shouyou felt at peace.

“Want to come back to my room?”

The request took him by surprise. He looked back up at Oikawa, who was smiling encouragingly at him. “It’s a nice room — our team’s all got good ones — and we can just sit and chat. I just,” he looked down at his shoes, becoming shy. It was a part of him Shouyou had never seen, and it surprised him. Oikawa sighed, seeming just a little bit sad. “I just don’t want to be alone either. Not yet, anyway.”

He squeezed the shorter boy’s hand, and Shouyou’s heart seemed to squeeze with it. He didn’t see this side of Oikawa, and it struck him that he’d probably once felt the same way Shouyou had when he first arrived.

“I would, but, I’m kind of covered in sand,” Shouyou laughed nervously. “And I’d like to get out of these clothes. I’ve been wearing them all day.”

“We can have that arranged,” Oikawa said easily. Then, after realizing the implications of those words, his eyes widened and he sent himself into a flustered panic. “I — I didn’t mean — that’s — that's not what I meant, I —” he paused, seeing Shouyou start to snicker again. He frowned, “why are you always laughing at me?”

“You just make me smile,” Shouyou replied, kicking a stone with his shoe and grinning dumbly at the ground. Their interlocked hands swung lazily between them. “I haven’t felt this happy in so long, I don’t want it to end either.” He looked back up at Oikawa, raising an eyebrow. “So, if you didn’t mean what I thought you did, what did you mean?”

“You can shower at my room, if you’d like,” Oikawa said. “And you can just borrow some of my clothes. I really don’t mind. I mean, you’d absolutely drown in one of my shirts, but it would be kind of cute.”

Now, it was Shouyou’s turn to become flustered. Did Oikawa think he was cute? Shouyou had always thought Oikawa was gorgeous, but he’d been too caught up with Kageyama to dwell on it. Now, he was walking with Oikawa, their hands interlocked, sides nearly pressed together, and he’d just offered him his shower and his clothes for the night.

“Okay, then,” Shouyou replied. “If you don’t mind, of course.”

“Not at all,” Oikawa smiled, seeming almost relieved. “Like I said, I just don’t want to be alone.”

———

The hotel Oikawa was staying at was a nice one. Shouyou felt oddly out of place in the grand marble lobby as they walked toward the elevators. There were glass sculptures everywhere and even though Shouyou was nowhere near them he was worried they would break and that he would have serious hell to pay.

“What’re you so tense for?” Oikawa asked as if reading his mind. “Never been in a hotel before?”

“It’s just so nice,” Shouyou had a last fleeting glimpse at the lobby before the doors of the elevator closed. “Do you guys stay in hotels like this all the time?”

“It depends,” Oikawa replied. “Most training camps are similar to the ones we went to in high school, but some don’t have lodging, because they prefer to focus on the training aspect, so we have to find hotels. Luckily, we’re funded an obscene amount of money.”

Shouyou laughed at this, and Oikawa smiled at him appreciatively.

As they stepped out onto Oikawa’s floor, Shouyou took in the incredibly fancy carpeting which looked too pretty to step on. He subconsciously tiptoed lightly over the rug.

“It’s the floor. It’s supposed to be walked on,” Oikawa teased, ruffling Shouyou’s hair. Shouyou found himself enjoying the gesture, his scalp tingling even after Oikawa had removed his hand.

“I know, it’s just so fancy,” Shouyou shook his head in disbelief.

They turned a corner and Oikawa suddenly stopped, turning to face the door at room 1033. Shouyou stopped behind him as he pulled a card from his pocket and slid it into the little slot at the doorway. The red dot on the door turned green, and Oikawa pushed the handle down.

“You’ll want to put it in with the arrow facing up,” he told Hinata as he pocketed the card with the other hand. “And leave it in there until the little dot turns green.”

“Why’re you telling me?” Shouyou raised an eyebrow, amused. Oikawa smirked.

“You’ll need to know how to get in when you come back.”

Shouyou blushed. _When_ you come back. Not if. Oikawa planned on having his company more than just this once? He couldn’t help but feel honored. He looked around at the room to see that it was equally as intimidating as the rest of the hotel. This was a whole suite. Oikawa gently closed the door behind him.

“I’ll grab some clothes for you,” he said, putting a hand on Shouyou’s shoulder and brushing by him. He walked to a door on the adjacent wall that probably led to a bedroom. There was a couch on the opposite wall, a window behind it. There was a small kitchen area right beside the door, with a microwave, a blender, and a stove, but no oven. Across from the couch was a table, and beside it on the wall opposite him was a sliding glass door which led to a balcony. Shouyou wasn’t sure where to go. He felt too sandy to move anywhere in the pristine room. Oikawa came back from the bedroom, chuckling when he saw Shouyou still standing by the door.

“You should really think more highly of yourself,” Oikawa told him, handing him a white towel, a teal shirt, and some sweats. “The fact that a player as good as you doesn’t live in a suite like this should be a crime.”

Shouyou blushed at the praise. Oikawa really thought he was that good? And how could he read his mind so easily? Shouyou supposed it was because they were so similar. 

“You can shower first,” Oikawa smiled, brushing by the compliment as if it were nothing. “I’ll get everything ready.”

“Thank you,” Shouyou stared down at the pile in his arms, still in disbelief that he was actually here. It was starting to feel like a dream. “I’ll — I’ll be out soon!”

It took him an embarrassing amount of time to operate the fancy shower (seriously, why can’t simple things just be simple?) but he figured it out eventually. He was quick, washing out the sand on his body and in his hair and deciding to leave it at that. He used the soap bar that looked untouched, as Oikawa seemed to have brought his own that looked far more expensive, which made Shouyou chuckle. That sounded typical of him. The shower was extremely relaxing, and he felt like he could stay there forever as the droplets massaged his back. He felt tired. Not emotionally exhausted like he usually did at the end of the day, more like he wanted to curl into a ball and take a well-deserved rest at the end of a good game. 

He turned off the water soon enough, drying himself off and turning to clothes Oikawa had lent him. Thinking about how Kageyama would absolutely lose his shit seeing Shouyou in Oikawa’s clothes made him let out a rueful laugh. He slid Oikawa’s teal shirt over himself, and affirmed Oikawa’s previous statement when he’d predicted Shouyou would drown in it. It was way too big for him, but it was warm and comfortable, and it smelled like a comforting mix of clean cotton and cherry blossoms. He slid on the sweats next, having to tie them all the way tight just for them to stay over his hips, and he had to roll up the bottoms so they wouldn’t drag on the ground.

He left the bathroom to see Oikawa on the couch, watching something on his laptop while sipping a cup of tea. He looked up when he heard the door open. Shouyou wondered how long it must have taken to get ready — he really hadn’t been in the shower all that long. Then again, he had spent a considerable amount of time admiring the way he looked in teal and the smell of Oikawa’s shirt.

Oikawa whistled lowly as he approached, grinning.

“You look adorable,” he told Shouyou, his voice shamelessly flirtatious. He took another cup off the table, holding it out to Shouyou when he was close enough to take it. “Do you care for tea?”

“Not normally, but now that I’ve been feeling homesick,” Shouyou took a sip, the warm liquid gliding down his throat with ease. He sighed happily, “it really hits the spot.”

“I figured as much,” Oikawa nodded. “It helped me too, when I first got here.”

He patted the space on the couch beside him, and Shouyou felt himself move without his own accord to sit beside him. He wasn’t sure what it was, he just needed to feel him again, just to make sure he wasn’t going to disappear. Their sides were pressed together, and the contact was reassuring enough for the ginger. He took another sip of his tea. After he swallowed, his head seemed to move automatically to Oikawa’s shoulder, as if pulled by a magnet. However, the other man gently lifted it off, and Shouyou involuntarily groaned at the loss.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right back,” Oikawa said, voice soothing and reassuring. “I have to get all this sand off me, though.” He leaned close, his breath brushing by Shouyou’s ear. “I’ll be quick, I promise.”

“Okay,” Shouyou conceded, trying to ignore his hammering heart. He looked to the laptop on the table to see that a USB was plugged into the side, and on the screen was a familiar court that Shouyou felt he hadn’t seen in forever. “Is that — is that our match from my first year? From the Miyagi Prefectural Qualifiers?”

Oikawa chuckled. “Yes. My last match with Aoba Johsai. When we lost to you, it was like an awakening for me. I’d been blindsided by my own pride, and that led to our loss. For a while, I took it as a failure, as a setter and as a captain. Now, I take it as growth.” Oikawa smiled to himself. “There’s always room for growth, no matter if you’re the best setter in the world or the best spiker. I consider myself like a beanstalk — striving for the top but always going back to my roots to strengthen my foundation. Otherwise, it all topples over. I like to watch over my old matches, critique my mistakes, and work to improve and move past them. In a weird way, watching my mistakes helps me move on.” He looked to Shouyou, nodding encouragingly. “And since you have the same passion and dedication I do, I feel like it can help you too.”

And with that, Oikawa turned over his shoulder, disappearing into the bathroom thats door Shouyou had left ajar. He set his clothes on the side and closed the door behind him. As Shouyou heard the water turn on again, he seemed to come out of whatever trance he’d been put in as he began to take Oikawa’s words to heart. Shouyou watched himself, spike after spike, doing his best not to stare too hard at Kageyama and instead focus on his own technique. He’d certainly improved his receives since the beginning of that year, and even now he had much better technique than he had at this match.

He felt like what Oikawa was trying to show him was that he’d grown a lot already, and even though there was still a long ways to go, he should appreciate how far he’d already come. He felt a soft spot already beginning to form in his chest for him. Oikawa had grown a lot too — he’d been cocky and arrogant when they’d first met, and though he did still have the same flirtatious mannerisms now, Shouyou knew he was a genuinely good person.

Shouyou supposed he’d been biased, as they’d always been opponents and he’d never gotten to see this side of him. He should have realized that Oikawa had a much bigger heart than he’d thought, as his team all admired him as a leader and as a friend. Even the Great King wasn’t hesitant to admit he was only human, and needed Shouyou’s company just as much as he needed his.

Oikawa was quick as promised, and Shouyou heard the shower turn off in the other room. Shouyou’s eyes drifted to an open bag beside the table where the laptop sat. Much to his amazement, on the inside sat what looked to be many, maybe a hundred USBs inside, all labeled neatly with a date and the name of a team. He’d always admired Oikawa’s dedication to his work, but he’d never realized just how far it went. Did he have a recording of every match he’d ever played?

The door opened, and Shouyou looked up to see Oikawa come out. His usually fluffy hair was wet and poofy, sticking up at odd angles as he ran his towel through it again. He wore a plain, grey t-shirt and some black sweats. Seeing him like this felt oddly intimate. He smiled at Shouyou as he approached, then looked to the screen.

“Hm,” he hummed to himself. “I was never quite happy with that serve. You had too many opportunities to receive it.”

Shouyou looked at the screen, but the ball was already on the floor.

“But . . . we didn’t?” He raised an eyebrow. Oikawa shrugged.

“Yeah, you were expecting another killer jump serve, but I gave you a floater,” he replied. “An accident on my part. My nerves were starting to kick in.”

“The Great King gets nervous?” Shouyou joked. Oikawa laughed, retaking his seat beside him.

“Oh, absolutely,” he said, smiling and shaking his head. “All the time. It’s not a success without the crushing threat of failure.” He tilted his head to the side at Shouyou in amusement. “I’ve always liked that nickname you came up with for me. I felt important whenever you called me that. Plus, I could tell it always made Tobio-chan jealous.”

Shouyou’s eyes widened. “It did?”

Oikawa stared at him in disbelief. “What do you mean? Of course it did. I thought you were doing it on purpose to rile him up and motivate him.”

Shouyou put a hand over his mouth, somehow just now realizing that this could have been a reason why Kageyama didn’t confess to him earlier. “Whoops.”

The older man laughed, eyes twinkling with amusement. “You both really are a bunch of idiots, huh? No wonder you got along so well.”

He must have seen the change in Shouyou’s expression, because his grin faltered. He put acomforting arm around Shouyou, and the ginger felt himself melt into his touch. The lines between whether this was romantic or friendly blurred in Shouyou’s mind. Both he and Oikawa were just touchy people, so maybe this was just platonic behavior.   


The rapid rhythm of his heart said otherwise. 

“We . . . We don’t really talk much anymore,” Shouyou explained. He found himself telling Oikawa everything. How sad and empty he’d been when Kageyama left, how excited he was to see him again, then the crushing loneliness he’d felt as soon as he’d left that last time. The two of them didn’t talk much after that. They didn’t know what to say. It was like they’d reached a mutual agreement to move on for now. Besides the occasional “good luck at your game today!” and “you still alive, over there?” the boys had lost touch. Kageyama still hadn’t replied to the selfie he’d sent of him and Oikawa. He hadn’t sent it out of spite, or anything. It was merely to show Kageyama that he was enjoying himself and that he shouldn’t worry, though now Shouyou realized it probably seemed like he was trying to making his old partner jealous.

“We can’t do anything about it, so there’s no point in talking about it,” Shouyou sighed, nuzzling further into the warmth of Oikawa’s shoulder. “He doesn’t have time in his life for a relationship right now. Especially not with somebody halfway across the world. So I guess we’ve both just decided tonight away our feelings for a while. Focus on the other things in our lives.”

Oikawa was silent for a minute or so. Shouyou would have thought he’d fallen asleep with the steady breathing and heartbeat he could feel through his chest, if not for the gentle circles he was tracing around Shouyou’s bicep. Shouyou could tell he was deep in thought. He always seemed to disappear inside himself when he was, he’d seen it happen at matches. Finally, he spoke.

“I’m sorry to hear the Golden Pair is dissolved, even if temporarily,” Oikawa said quietly, seeming distant. “Iwa-chan and I grew apart too. We — I confessed to him years ago, and I think he loved me too, but I think it was too much for him. And then with me moving here to go Pro, I just didn’t want to put that strain on him.” He sighed. “We’ve been friends since we were kids. And it hurts that I don’t talk to him much anymore, but sometimes you’ve just got to move on.”

Much to his surprise, Shouyou felt the weight of Oikawa’s head on top of his, as Oikawa leaned back into his touch. Shouyou moved to set his tea down on the table before returning to a seated position. He flipped himself around, straddling Oikawa, but merely to wrap his arms around him in a hug. He could feel both of their heart rates start to speed up, then slow down again. Oikawa’s arms wrapped around his middle, and for a few minutes they just held each other. He felt so safe in Oikawa’s arms. Shouyou could feel himself start to nod off, until he felt a buzzing in his pocket.

 _Shit_! He’d forgotten to tell Pedro where he was.

He removed one arm from the embrace to remove his phone from his pocket, type in his pin, and reply to his poor roommate.

**Pedro:  
are you okay? where are you?**

**im just at a friends! he’s an  
** **old friend from japan! don’t  
worry about me, and get some  
sleep!**

“Oikawa-san,” he said softly. The other man yawned, as if he’d nearly fallen asleep too.

“What’s wrong, chibi-chan?” He asked sleepily. Shouyou blushed. The nickname combined with Oikawa’s tired voice sounded incredibly _intimate._

“I’ve got to get back soon,” he said. “I can call a Lyft, and I’ll text you when I get back so you know I didn’t get kidnapped.”

“What if you just stay here?” Oikawa wrapped his arms tighter around him, burying his face into the crook of Shouyou’s neck. “Then I _know_ you won’t get kidnapped.”

The buzz of his voice against his skin made Shouyou’s heart race. He didn’t want to leave either.

“Only if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course,” Oikawa murmured sleepily. “Please don’t go.”

“Okay, then,” Shouyou smiled, a warm feeling filling his chest. “I’ll be right here.”

He shot a second text to Pedro, then set his phone on the windowsill behind the couch. He snuggled back into Oikawa’s embrace. The brunette chuckled.

“Took you long enough,” he said softly.

Oikawa shifted so that they were now lying down, Shouyou still on top of him. Shouyou’s arms cushioned his head, his legs on either side of Oikawa’s hips. Shouyou’s ear was pressed up against Oikawa’s chest, and he inhaled a deep breath of clean cotton and cherry blossoms. He wasn’t sure exactly when he’d fallen asleep, but when he did, it didn’t feel like falling. It felt like coming home after a long day at practice. Coming home, after a brutal game. Coming home after months in a strange place. 

Oikawa felt like home.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love and support I already have! I hope you enjoyed how soft this chapter was. Prepare yourself for some jealous Kags in the next one. Poor angsty boy.


	3. replacement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the first time in his life, Tobio feels like he’s been replaced. He makes a call to somebody who understands, and meets with another by chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jealous Kags (as promised) featuring typical stupidity, a blast from the past, and an old friend.

**the world’s biggest idiots collide.**

  
It was the cleverest response he’d could come up with, and that had taken him two hours. He wasn’t sure how else to reply to the photo Hinata had sent him as he was sitting in the locker room after practice. He’d gotten home and had to sit in his room for a good long while to form a response that didn’t reveal the intense amount of emotions he was feeling. Tobio’s blood was boiling, and it only seemed to grow hotter as he thought back to when it first happened.

Hinata hadn’t messaged him since his last match, in which he’d congratulated him on their victory. Tobio always tried hard during his games, knowing Hinata was always watching. 

**congrats! you were  
awesome, kageyama!**

**i can’t wait to watch  
you in the olympics!!**

**thanks, dumbass.**

**id better see you**   
**there in 2021.**

Those were the last messages they’d sent each other. They’d taken place about a week ago. Then, randomly, his phone had buzzed after practice, much to his surprise. The banner on the screen read,

  
**Sunshine Boy: Attachment 1 Image**

The notification on its own was surprising enough, as they hadn’t sent each other pictures in a long time. Tobio wondered what it was. Sometimes, Hinata would send him a meme that wasn’t at all funny, but Tobio pretended it was for his sake despite usually being confused. Other times, Hinata sent him a picture of things with grumpy faces, saying that they reminded him of Tobio. However, he hadn’t sent either in a while. Tobio’s questions were answered with the next text, as following right after was:

**LOOK WHO I MET IN BRAZIL!**

All capital letters, just like that. Tobio thought to himself, _oh, this can’t be good._ And as usual, he was right. He regretted tapping on the message the instant he saw the picture.

It was a selfie of Hinata, having the time of his life on the beach, a wild expression on his face. That wouldn’t have been an issue (in fact, it would have made Tobio smile), if the person next to him wasn’t Tooru Oikawa, who was looking similarly gleeful and unhinged. Tobio nearly threw his phone across the locker room. Ushijima was walking by, and Tobio instinctively grabbed his sleeve. The man standing raised an eyebrow as Tobio shoved his phone in his face. Then, his inquiring expression hardened into one of great distaste.

“This ruined my day,” Ushijima said plainly, as he always did. Tobio nodded.

“Somebody has to share in my suffering,” he replied, frowning at the screen. His heart seemed to be constricting itself in his chest. A wave of what could only be described as jealousy washed over him, followed by a few pangs of betrayal.

“Doesn’t mean it had to be me,” Ushijima grumbled. “Anyway, we’ve got more important things to focus on. Quit sulking and get yourself home.”

“Yes, sir,” Tobio replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. Ushijima only took his sass because he was the strongest player on the team, but Tobio knew he was right. He couldn’t let this distract him.

———

To say Tobio was furious would be an understatement. He was still angry, even as he sat at home hours later trying to take his mind off of it. He wanted to punch Oikawa right in his dumb, pretty-boy face. He was one more minor inconvenience away from booking a flight to Brazil to do just that. 

He’d never been in a romantic relationship. His lifestyle just didn’t allow for it. However, he thought resentfully to himself that this was what it must feel like to be cheated on. Yet, he couldn’t be cheated on if they were never together in the first place. He and Hinata hadn’t discussed their relationship. Instead, it seemed like they were further apart than ever. They’d both decided to move on with their lives and reconcile whenever their paths crossed again. He knew he had no reason to feel jealous of Oikawa, especially if they’d just met that day. Tobio convinced himself that they’d probably just played some volleyball and that was the end of it. 

Yet, the more he thought about it, the more it stung. He felt like he had lost some game he didn’t even know he’d been playing. 

_“Doesn’t mean it had to be me.”_

Well, who else would understand the pain Tobio was in right now, oh wise Ushijima? 

Then he realized.

He was on the internet in a flash, searching desperately for Hajime Iwaizumi’s contact information. Just like how Hinata was his counterpart, Iwaizumi was Oikawa's. They just came in a pair, until of course, they didn’t. Tobio wasn’t quite sure of their relationship — they’d been dating for a while and then suddenly they weren’t, but he’d only found that out a while ago from one of his teammates, and hadn’t been bothered to press any further. Who knew when they actually broke up.

Unlike Tobio and Hinata, however, Iwaizumi and Oikawa had been friends since they were kids. Their bond ran even deeper than his and the ginger’s, which Tobio realized must be even more painful now that one was halfway across the world, and had been for years.

He was able to find Iwaizumi’s work phone quickly enough, and wondered if he should shoot him an email first, but decided he couldn’t wait any longer. He put his number into the phone and hit dial, holding it to his ear as it rung. He drummed his fingers on the table in time with the sound of the tones. 

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

 _Click_. “Hello?”

Tobio let out a sigh of relief. “Hey, is this Iwaizumi?”

“Yes, who’s this?” His tone was entirely professional. Tobio’s general impression of him was that he was loud, serious, and brutally honest. He had to be, in order to keep Oikawa in check. To hear him so polite and reserved was an interesting experience, to say the least.

“Hello,” Tobio cleared his throat. “This is Tobio Kageyama. I don’t know if you remember me, but—”

There was a low laugh from the other end of the line, cutting off his awkward introduction. His professionalism started to fade away, his tone becoming more casual. “Ah, Kageyama! I was wondering when you’d call me.”

Tobio froze. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“I got a picture too,” Iwaizumi replied, and Tobio could hear the irritation in his voice. “In addition to the rest of Aoba Johsai. Oikawa wasn’t hesitant to share with everybody that he met Hinata at the beach. I wasn’t sure if he was genuinely trying to share that he was having a good time or subtly trying to spite me.”

“Ah,” Tobio said, unsure how to respond. “Hinata only sent it to me, or, at least I think he did. I think he was just trying to let me know he was doing okay, but it still — it still —”

He was having a hard time admitting it aloud, so Iwaizumi finished for him.

“Hurt a little?” He asked wryly. “It did for me too. I know they’ve only seen each other today, but in an odd way, I feel like I’m being replaced.”

Ah, so “cheated” wasn’t the right word. Though, Tobio didn’t think he liked “replaced” any better.

“Yeah,” he said, realizing he’d forgotten to reply. “Me too.”   


There was some silence from both ends before Iwaizumi spoke again. 

“From a professional perspective, I feel like they’re good for each other’s growth,” Iwaizumi told him. “Especially if they’re playing on the beach, which is an entirely different kind of training than they’re used to. However, that just means that we can’t fall behind them. You’d better train your ass off to keep up, otherwise Hinata might just surprise you. Oikawa’s good at pulling out the best parts of people and amplifying them. He could be a totally different player when you meet again.”

 _Yeah,_ Tobio thought dryly to himself. _That’s what I’m afraid of._

“You know,” Iwaizumi said casually. “Not to capitalize on our mutual suffering or anything, but I’ll be in town for the Olympics sometime soon. If you want to schedule a few sessions, I’m an open book at the moment. I’d offer to oversee practices, but that’s kind of against the rules.” There was a pause. “Plus, it would be nice to see somebody from home again. We could visit Kitagawa for old time’s sake.” 

Tobio found himself agreeing instantly. Throwing himself into volleyball was always a good distraction from his feelings, and he couldn’t let his feelings get in the way of his games. Iwaizumi ended up giving him his personal number too, as apparently he was more likely to answer that one, and the when the call ended Tobio felt at least a little better.

He moved to his bed, laying down and staring at the ceiling, setting the ball upward in a straight line. His thoughts wandered.

Was Oikawa setting for Hinata? He felt weirdly possessive when he told himself only he could set for Hinata, which simply wasn’t true, but he felt betrayed nonetheless. He knew Hinata hadn’t meant to make him upset by sending that photo, but a part of his imagination pictured the ginger and Oikawa laughing together at his suffering, and the thought made him want to throw up. Tobio knew Hinata had been struggling in Brazil, so to see him so happy was a relief. Tobio sighed, pausing with the ball in his hands. Maybe Oikawa was what Hinata needed. A little push to keep going.

Tobio resumed his setting with a frown.

He wished _he_ could have been that little push.

———

The next day, Tobio was grabbing some groceries from the store. He’d checked out without event, and he left the store with two bags, the bells chiming above him. As he turned the corner, an unexpected person was leaning against the store, a cell phone in his right hand and a cigarette in his left. His silver hair shone in the light of the afternoon, and Tobio stopped in his tracks upon recognizing him.

“Sugawara?” He asked. The other man turned to look at him in surprise, his face brightening with his classic smile.

“Kageyama!” He pocketed his phone and jogged over, waving with his now free hand. He doused his cigarette and dropped it into the trash. “It’s been so long! How have you been? You were amazing in your match last week, as always.”

“Uh, thanks,” Tobio replied, unsure how to respond to the praise. “What are you doing out here?”

“Just taking a walk,” Suga replied. “I’m meeting Daichi later today for a drink, but it’s nice to run into you. How’re you feeling about the Olympics next month?”

To be honest, extremely queasy. Whenever he thought about it he felt like he might be sick, but he was able to brush by his nerves enough to contain himself and play well.

“Alright, I guess,” he lied. Suga snorted.

“Alright?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “Where’d your drive go?”

Tobio shrugged. It just wasn’t the same without Hinata. His head was a mess of feelings right now. Perhaps this was why he said his next words.

“Suga, do you know what it’s like to feel like you’ve been . . . replaced?”

Sugawara stared at him, as if unsure he’d heard him correctly. His lack of response made Tobio realize just exactly who he was talking to, and he felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment. It didn’t help that _he_ was the one saying it either, and he felt even worse. 

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” he said quickly. “I was totally in my head there. I didn’t mean to— oh, shit. I’m sorry, Suga—”

Sugawara stifled his laughter under his hand, and Tobio was relieved to see he wasn’t angry. He shouldn’t have been that surprised. Suga had never held any resentment toward him on the team, and they were years past that now anyway. Why would he be angry about it?

“Yes, Kageyama, I do,” he chuckled. “And it hurts. But to me, that was more of a motivator than anything. Even if I was on the sidelines most of the game, I did whatever I could to help because I wanted our team to succeed. It pushed me to work harder, and be better.” He raised an eyebrow. “Though, I doubt this is about volleyball. You’re slowly becoming one of the best setters in the nation. So what gives?”

Tobio wasn’t sure where to start, so he pulled out his phone and showed Suga the picture. The older man’s eyes widened with surprise, and he put a hand over his mouth. It was both relieving and worrying that Shouyou hadn’t sent the picture to all of their team, just to him. 

“No way,” Suga gasped. “They’re together in Brazil? Right now?”

Tobio nodded sullenly as Suga handed his phone back to him.

“And you feel like you’re being replaced?”

Tobio sighed, realizing how dumb it sounded. “A little.”

Suga was silent as they walked for a bit, staring up at the sky as they passed a cafe. He shrugged. “You know, I figured this might happen at some point.”

Tobio wasn’t sure whether or not to punch him. He’d expected consolation from Suga, not this.

“Huh?!”

“They’re both fairly optimistic people who like to shine on the court,” Suga explained. “They’re similar in their positivity and compassion. It would make sense they’d become friends someday.” Suga raised a knowing eyebrow. “But that’s not what you’re worried about, is it?”

After studying Tobio’s facial expressions closely, Suga sat back, smiling amusedly to himself. “You’re worried about them becoming more than that. Are you afraid Oikawa will become his new best friend? Or perhaps, his boyfriend?” At the way Tobio’s cheeks went red, Suga gasped. “Ah! So that _is_ the case! I knew it! Daichi owes me a whole lot of yen.”

Tobio shot him a startled look. “You guys made bets on us?!”

“Oh, yeah, all the time,” Suga replied nonchalantly. “Every time you’d pick Hinata up by the shirt Tanaka and Noya would chant ‘kiss kiss kiss’ under their breath and were sorely disappointed when you never did.”

The fact that their team had caught onto how much they liked each other before they did was only further proof that Hinata and Tobio were dense as doorknobs.

“Never mind that, though,” Suga waved his hand flippantly. “They’ve only just known each other for what, a day now? It’s not going to evolve into anything serious, what with Oikawa playing for Argentina. Besides, they’ll never have the same dynamic as you and Hinata do. The two of them being so similar would seem great at first, but it would slowly become too much of a good thing, you know?”

Tobio nodded. Hearing Suga say these things was relieving, and comforting at the same time. Tobio felt much better as he took his words to heart. He knew they were true. Nobody complemented Tobio like Hinata, and nobody complemented Hinata like Tobio. That’s the way it always had been, and probably the way it always will be.

“Hinata will take this opportunity to grow,” Suga continued. “Getting used to different setters and their sets is good for him. He’s only really accustomed to mine, yours, and I remember Kenma set for him a few times when they were hooking up—”

Tobio choked on air. Suga looked at him in alarm.

“What? He didn’t tell you?”

Tobio sputtered, at an utter loss for words. “N-no! He what?”

“I don’t remember exactly what happened, but it was during the second training camp of your first year,” Suga shrugged. “I don’t think they did anything serious, because they both could walk the next day, but Kuroo wasn’t happy when he found out. He yelled at Daichi who came into our room, laughing his ass off. He told me, and I remember sitting there in stunned silence for a moment before laughing my ass off too.”

Tobio had always been jealous of Hinata’s interest in the Nekoma setter, and felt slightly self-righteous when he found out he was justified in that. Suga’s blunt honesty was both a blessing and a curse. He didn’t want to hear about this fling with Kenma on top of the issue of Oikawa in Brazil. God, what was the thing with Sunshine Boy and setters? 

“I’m going to ignore that you just told me that and continue with my life like it never happened,” Tobio said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Holy shit. Anyway, thanks for helping, I think?” He checked his watch. “I’ve got to put these groceries away before they spoil in the heat. Uh, have fun with Daichi?”

“Will do,” Suga smiled. “Don’t worry about Hinata. He’ll come back to you eventually. After all, you promised to beat each other, didn’t you?”

 _Yeah,_ Tobio thought as he watched Suga’s retreating back. _Yeah we did._

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thinking about Suga smoking is absolute brain rot. That’s it. That’s the end note.  
> I’m not sure if I’ll alternate POVs every chapter, because a lot happens in Brazil in the span of two weeks, but we’ll see. I hope you’re enjoying this so far! I love reading your comments, so keep em’ coming if you have stuff to say!


	4. connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a conversation in the morning, Shouyou makes good of his promise to Tooru about dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I tell y’all I was screaming the whole time I wrote this, I am not kidding.  
> I love them so much PLEASE.

Shouyou stirred. He noticed he was in a very different position that he’d been when he’d fallen asleep. The cushion of warmth beneath him had been replaced with real cushions, and he was lying on his side, holding a soft blanket to his chest. When he opened his eyes, they took a few blinks to get accustomed to the light. He sat up slowly, rubbing the life back into his eyes with one hand and stretching the other arm up to the sky. For a minute, he’d forgotten he’d fallen asleep on Oikawa’s couch, and the unfamiliar room startled him.

_Holy shit._

He’d fallen asleep on Oikawa’s couch.

As if to rub the reality even further in his face, there was a familiar laugh from the kitchen.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he sang. The nickname made Shouyou turn almost as red as his hair. He’d been compared to the sun many times by many people, mostly because it was in his name, but at the same time it was in his nature too. When he dared sit all the way up, he looked toward the direction his host’s voice had come from. Oikawa was sitting at the table, his chin resting on his hand. His hair had returned to its apparently naturally fluffy state, and Shouyou realized that he was dressed for practice. He looked down at the blanket to see it was black and covered with little UFO and alien patterns, and he smiled to himself. It was similar to one he’d had as a kid, but his had little cars on it, and it was a lot smaller.

“Good morning,” he replied, voice slightly scratchy with tiredness. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Do you have practice soon?”

“In around an hour,” Oikawa shrugged. “But I was hoping we’d get to eat together again before I have to take off. I got us room service.”

Shouyou blushed. Why did he do to warrant being pampered like this? “You didn’t have to do that! You’ve already done so much for me.”

“You’ve done a lot for me too, Shouyou Hinata,” Oikawa replied, Shouyou’s heart skipping a beat with the doting tone accompanying his name. “Though, I’m sure you don’t even realize it.”

Shouyou smiled playfully at him as he stood from the sofa, cracking his stiff joints. “What, is this your way of tricking me into owing you breakfast _and_ dinner?”

Oikawa blushed — a pretty pink interrupting the serene tan of his face — and smiled back. “Perhaps.”

Shouyou sat across from him at the small table, and the two dug into the variety of fruits and breads the hotel had offered them. They both had coffee, which Shouyou found to be surprisingly rich, and they ate in a sort of peaceful silence. Shouyou wasn’t sure how to bring up the previous night, and yet again, wasn’t sure he wanted to. He wanted to keep being close like this to him without all of the technical stuff that came with it. Shouyou may have been an idiot, but falling asleep holding each other certainly wasn’t a platonic thing; at least, not in his book. He felt somewhat guilty about it, thinking about Kageyama back in Japan. Even though they’d decided that a relationship wasn’t good for them, knowing about the other’s feelings for him made this all a whole lot harder.

“What’s wrong?”

Shouyou blinked back to the present. Oikawa was staring at him curiously. He shook his head.

“Nothing, why?” He continued to eat his food, pushing his thoughts down for when he was alone again.

“You’re making that face,” Oikawa smiled amusedly. “The one you make when you’re thinking really hard about something. I only thought I should point it out because you don’t make it very often.”

“Hey!” Shouyou retorted, flicking Oikawa in the arm from across the table. The older man laughed, finding Shouyou’s mild annoyance to be quite entertaining. Shouyou thought the diversion had worked for a second, until he spoke again.

“Don’t think it’ll be that easy to distract me,” Oikawa winked, Shouyou’s spirits sinking. “What’s on your mind? Of course, you don’t have to tell me. But I’d like to help, if I can.”

He wasn’t sure exactly what to say, his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth.

_I like you, but I’m not sure if I actually do or if I just need somebody._

_I can’t tell if I want to be with you or not because I miss Kageyama._

_Is it you I want? Or Kageyama? Or just somebody to hold on to that I know won’t slip away?_

What he ended up asking instead was,

“Do you see Iwaizumi in me?”

Oikawa’s eyes widened, blinking owlishly a few times as he stared at the ginger before him. He looked down at the table, seeming almost guilty for a second before he looked up.

“I — I guess I do,” he said quietly. “But it’s only fair. You see Kageyama in me too, don’t you?”

Shouyou couldn’t deny it, he too felt a bit guilty. He nodded down at his plate. However, in front of him, Oikawa chuckled. Shouyou looked up to see the confident complacency had returned to his face.

“So then, what’s the problem?” He raised an eyebrow, as if this weren’t complicated at all. “It’s been said. We’re both liars. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy what we have. As far as we’re concerned, those two are in Japan, on the other side of the world. We’re both here, right now, and we both need somebody to keep us from ripping ourselves apart with loneliness, no?” Oikawa paused for Shouyou to disagree, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. Oikawa was right. The older man sat back with a sigh, smirking to himself. “What happens in Rio, doesn’t have to leave Rio. We might want them deep down, but right here we have each other, don’t we?”

He held out his hand, palm facing up, in an offering. Shouyou took the hand that had been on his fork and accepted it, lacing their fingers together. He hadn’t realized how much larger Oikawa’s hands were than his, and he would have laughed if their conversation weren’t so serious.

“I just don’t want to feel like I’m using you,” Shouyou said softly. “You deserve better than that.”

“So do you,” Oikawa lifted their hands to his lips, and gently kissed the top of Shouyou’s, his lips brushing over his skin and the heat of his breath sending goosebumps down his arm. “But Alas, even the Great King is only human. I’ll consider it fair if we’re both doing it, but who knows,” he winked, laughing lightly. “Maybe you’ll fall in love with me someday. Or perhaps I’ll fall in love with you first.”

Shouyou’s heart stuttered in his chest at his words. He let his guilt and his doubt fade away, leaving just the warm feeling that was pooling in his stomach, the contentedness he found with Oikawa.

“That’s okay with me,” he whispered, seeming to have lost his ability to speak as well.

“Let me know if you change your mind,” Oikawa rubbed a final circle into his hand before he let it go. He stood with his empty plate, and gestured to take Shouyou’s too. The ginger handed it to him gratefully, and Oikawa set them both in the sink. He sighed, checking his watch. “Do you need a ride back to your apartment?”

“It might be walking distance from here,” Shouyou replied, shrugging. “It shouldn’t take me all that long. I’ll check.”

Shouyou plugged his apartment address into his phone for directions, and noticed it was only about a 15 minute walk. Not bad. Actually, that was pretty good. If he ever wanted to visit Oikawa’s room again (and let’s face it, he did) he could walk here.

“I’d offer to walk you, but alas I have to meet the others down in the lobby before practice,” Oikawa ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly. “If we leave now, we can probably avoid all the awkward questions my teammates are going to ask.”

Shouyou chuckled despite himself. “That’s probably for the best.” He looked down at himself, realizing he was still wearing Oikawa’s clothes, and blushed. “I should probably get changed.”

Oikawa blanched with a look of uncharacteristic panic.

“Our clothes are probably still wet,” he informed Shouyou apologetically. “I might have forgotten to put our clothes in the dryer last night because we sort of fell asleep.”

“Oh,” Shouyou said, unsure how to respond. “Okay. Are you alright with me wearing your clothes back, then?”

“By all means,” Oikawa replied, making a shooing motion with his hand. “Sorry about that. I’ll get your clothes back to you by the end of the day. Besides, it’s nobody’s loss — just between you and me, you wear teal much better than I do. It compliments your hair.” He chuckled to himself. “I hate to pull an Ushiwaka, but,” he pushed his hair down over his forehead to mimic bangs, and set a serious expression on his face (though he couldn’t maintain it, as he started to smile halfway through). “You should have come to Aoba Johsai.”

Shouyou laughed at his antics, and Oikawa joined him. His impressions reminded Shouyou of his own, and it brightened his morning to find that Oikawa connected with him in that way.

So there Shouyou was several minutes later, in the still impeccably pristine lobby of the hotel, wearing Oikawa’s clothes that were still far too big for him. Neither of them wanted to leave, but it was inevitable at this point. Shouyou knew that they’d meet again, probably only in a matter of hours.

“Have fun at practice!” Shouyou beamed. “Try not to kill Ramos! Oh, and I’ll text you about dinner!”

Oikawa, who was looking slightly downcast, seemed to light up at the mention of their evening together. “Right!” He called back. “Thanks! I’ll catch you later, Tiny Giant!”

Even as Shouyou left the hotel and began his trek back to his own apartment, he felt less lonely. The crowded streets of Brazil didn’t seem quite as intimidating anymore, and he found himself looking up toward the sky with a brilliant smile on his face.

———

“Get laid last night?”

Due to Shouyou’s poor Portuguese he almost missed it. He had to rethink about what Pedro had just said, as he was waggling his eyebrows suggestively at the other man. He felt his face turn red as he realized, and he picked up the nearest pillow and chucked it at his face.

“No!” Shouyou replied. “I slept with him, but I didn’t — sleep with him.” He tried in botched Portuguese, only for Pedro to laugh harder.

“You’re wearing someone else’s clothes!” Pedro protested, clearly not believing him. “And they’re another man? You really get around, eh?”

Shouyou rolled his eyes.

“You don’t talk to me unless you have to and now you’re making fun of me,” he grumbled. Pedro seemed to understand the gist of what he was saying, because he rolled his eyes too.

“Yeah,” he said. “Because once you talk you don’t stop talking.”

Shouyou threw another pillow at him for good measure, and wondered what he was going to do with his day. He had enough time to go back to the beach and have a few games with the locals before it would be around time for lunch. He wondered where he should take Oikawa to eat. He couldn’t go anywhere fancy, because he didn’t have all that much money. Oh, shit— his wallet—

“Pedro, have you seen my—?”

As if reading his mind, Pedro tossed it to him. Shouyou caught it, despite the initial fumble at his surprise. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thanks, Pedro.” His part time job must have called his apartment and given back his wallet. He was lucky the people here were so nice.

He scrolled around on his phone for places nearby where they could eat. He recognized one of the places by the beach, and smiled to himself. They had nice outdoor seating with a view of the ocean, so if they both wanted, they could sit outside. He’d only eaten there once before, mostly because the amount of people there often made him feel lonely, but since he had Oikawa he thought it would be a nice plan to share his company. Plus, the food wasn’t too pricey either. It was about as cheap as the other restaurant they’d eaten at the previous night, which was Shouyou’s favorite. He decided he could work with that, and was relieved to see he didn’t have to make any sort of reservation.

He sent the restaurant’s website to Oikawa, whose number he had procured the previous night, and sent a text directly after.

  
**7:00 sound okay?**

He didn’t expect a text back for a while, so he pocketed his phone and went upstairs to get ready to go to the beach. He folded Oikawa’s clothes nicely and set them on his bed. He found his skin still smelled slightly like cherry blossoms and his heart started to do weird things in his chest when he took a deep breath.

_This trip would be the death of him._

“Leaving already?” Pedro asked as Shouyou came out of his room, already dressed and midway through lathering his arms with sunscreen.

“Yeah,” Shouyou replied. “I’m here to train, remember? I can’t waste time idling, especially since I have plans tonight.”

“Ah, so you’re taking him on a date?” Pedro raised an eyebrow mischievously. “The sex was that good, huh?”

Shouyou reached for another pillow to throw, but found that he’d run out of ammunition. He’d already tossed all of them and they were laying in a heap beside Pedro on the other sofa.

“He’s an old friend of mine, from high school,” Shouyou made a face at his roommate. “He’s in the Argentinian League for volleyball. It’s not a date. It’s just dinner.”

That was blatantly a lie, and Pedro caught him on it, but he didn’t say anything, other than,

“Aye, just keep saying that to yourself. Have fun at the beach, and make sure you put on that sunscreen right. I’m not putting aloe on you again.”

“Sure thing,” Shouyou replied. “I’ll be back soon!

He closed the door behind him, and set on his way to the beach. He was filled with a new thrumming of energy and motivation that he hadn’t had in the past few weeks he had been here. As he played round after round, and the sun began to rise higher in the sky, Shouyou took every missed receive as an opportunity for growth. The more he hit them, the more satisfied he became, and yet, the hungrier. When getting 10% of them turned to 20% then to 40% and to 60%, that was when he felt the satisfaction start to creep in. He was growing, he was doing better, he just had to keep trying. Oikawa had restored the determination and resilience he hadn’t realized he’d lost, and he felt grounded again in his game. His confidence had returned.

He shouldn’t have been surprised. That’s what Oikawa was known for, after all. Bringing out the best in his teammates and strengthening them as much as he could. Shouyou tried not to get too deep in his head, but he thought it was kind of Oikawa to help him grow past the rut he’d fallen into. He could almost hear the little Kageyama on his shoulder, yelling at him that the professional player had ulterior motives. However, they’d already been so vulnerable with each other, and honest and open, that Shouyou knew he could trust him.

Oikawa missed Iwaizumi, and Shouyou missed Kageyama, but they couldn’t do anything about it, so why couldn’t they help each other out? They both needed the emotional support, and it helped that they were already so similar to each other. As Shouyou walked back to the apartment after a few hours, he found himself longing for Oikawa’s touch again. Just remembering, he’d checked his phone to see that Oikawa had replied about an hour ago, probably on his lunch break. 

**sounds amazing.  
can’t wait to see you! ❤️**

The use of the emoji shouldn’t have made Shouyou as happy as it did, but he was smiling like an idiot at it nonetheless. He typed a quick **you too!❤️** to let him know he’d read his message. Shouyou was about to close the message app when he realized he’d gotten a response from Kageyama. It was from yesterday. Whoops. 

**the world’s biggest idiots collide.**

He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, except for Kageyama’s usual humor at his expense made him chuckle a bit. He decided to reply.   
  


**don’t worry, we haven’t  
sunk the continent yet!**

**tell ushijima we’ve been  
talking smack about him!!**

They really hadn’t, besides Oikawa’s mocking impression that morning, but he thought it might make Kageyama laugh. He pocketed his phone as he jogged back up the stairs to his and Pedro’s apartment, opening the door with his keys. For the first time, he’d noticed that a path of sand had started to form between the door and the bathroom, and he stared at it, embarrassed that it was his doing.

“We should invest in a vacuum,” he said. Pedro grunted from the sofa he’d been at before. Shouyou would have thought he hadn’t moved, if it weren’t for the cushions he’d replaced on the other sofa by the door.

“We’re both pretty broke,” Pedro replied. “We’ll see.”

Shouyou grimaced, struggling to get to the bathroom without shedding sand off of his body. Once he got there, he took a nice, relaxing shower. The shower in Oikawa’s hotel was much nicer, but then again, their apartment wasn’t anything fancy. Shoutout took the time to make sure his hair was properly shampooed and conditioned. Once he was sure all of the sand was off of his body, he rinsed off his beach clothes for good measure before hanging them on the towel rack to dry. After turning off the water, he tousled his hair with the towel as he normally did before wrapping it around his lower body to retain some decency. Pedro didn’t really ever care anyway, but he liked to make fun of Shouyou for “showing off his muscles” whenever he was shirtless in their apartment.

Luckily, Shouyou was spared the commentary as he made his way to his room. He was just about to pick out his normal street clothes when he remembered that he was taking Tooru Oikawa out to dinner, and that (no matter how many times he told himself otherwise) it was absolutely a date. It wasn’t on a whim, either, like last night. No, this was something they’d planned. So what should he wear?

He couldn’t go wrong with a pair of khaki shorts. He had a variety of button up shirts to choose from, but they all either had ridiculous patterns on them (parting gifts from Nishinoya) or they clashed horribly with his hair. He eventually decided on a relatively tame one, which was white and was patterned with monarch butterflies. The orange matched well enough with his hair and he liked the way it fit on him.

**do you want me to walk  
over to your hotel or would  
you rather just meet me there?**

**i know you can’t see this,  
so don’t feel rushed or  
anything! i hope your  
training is going well!  
**

———

He wasn’t sure exactly how he passed the next few hours waiting for a response. He played video games with Pedro for a while (which he somehow still sucked at, even after playing with Kenma for years) before scrolling through social media. He missed his friends back in Japan as he looked through Instagram. He saw several posts, the last being one of Yachi, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima. He wondered how Yachi was doing — she was the one who’d bought him this shirt, actually. 

Deciding the nostalgia was quickly going to turn into sadness if he didn’t stop, he decided to close out of Instagram and move on to Twitter. Usually Twitter made him laugh. He’d only scrolled through a few threads before another banner popped up at the top of his screen.

**just meet me there. i’d hate**   
**for you to have to walk all this way.**

The clock read 5:35. Oikawa must have just gotten out of practice. He hoped he’d given him enough time to shower and get ready.

**okie! i’ll see you then!!**

**actually, hold on just a second-**

He maneuvered to stand in front of the mirror in his room. Pedro watched him and snickered as he tried to find a good angle to take a picture of his outfit from. He positioned his hand in his hair and tried to look something close to hot, but by the way Pedro had migrated into full-on laughter, he could tell it wasn’t working. He left his hand in his hair and decided on just smiling, but he didn’t much like that either. He took a picture form the side, awkwardly twisting his torso around, but that was a terrible idea. Shit, why was he so bad at taking pictures of himself? Was he just ugly? The more he stared at himself, the worse it got before he finally just moved back to his second idea and smiled awkwardly, his hand returning to the back of his head. Once he decided it was satisfactory, he sent the picture to Oikawa.

**am i overdressed??**

His reply came a few minutes later.

**you’re perfect.**

Shouyou let out a sigh of relief.

**thank you!!**

**im glad you like it.**

**of course**

**whoever bought you that  
has excellent taste.**

Shouyou smiled at the message, making a note to thank Yachi again later. He decided to leave Oikawa to get ready as he waited for 6:50. He paced around the room impatiently, Pedro trying and failing to ignore him. He put himself to use and tried to sweep up the sand from the floor (he only succeeded in gathering some of it) and then proceeded to reorganize the refrigerator.

He decided 6:45 had taken long enough to arrive, and so he made a quick trip to the bathroom (as he tended to do when he was nervous) and reapplied his deodorant for good measure. He bid a hasty goodbye to his roommate as he left, leaving a few minutes earlier than planned, but deciding it was alright. At least now he had somewhere to go, and he wouldn’t be late. He passed the familiar street signs with a contented smile, taking in the oceanic breeze with pleasure. Though it was a long ways off, he knew he would miss it when he went back to Japan.

He arrived at the restaurant a good seven minutes early, and was lucky he did, because almost as soon as he arrived he heard his name from a distance.

“Hinata-chan!”

The teasing, childish call brought a luminous grin to Shouyou’s face, and he whipped around as he saw Oikawa jogging toward him. His hair was fluffy, as usual, and he wore a similar outfit to Shouyou’s, but his button-up was a deep, cerulean blue. There were little red parrots patterned on it, and the first two buttons were undone. Oikawa had plenty of time, so Shouyou realized this was an artistic choice. He too had left the top two button’s undone — but purely because it felt awfully stuffy to have the entire thing buttoned.

“You know, it’s hardly fair I didn’t get a picture of your outfit too,” Shouyou teased. “Then I would’ve been prepared for how good you look.”

Oikawa chuckled. “I did get a picture, but that didn’t prepare me for how good you look either,” he ruffled Shouyou’s hair. “You look even better in person!”

Shouyou smiled at him, blushing. “Thanks! You’ll have to thank Yachi — she’s the one who bought me this.”

“It’s fitting,” Oikawa said, tracing the wings of one of the butterflies with his finger. “You’re small, and beautiful, but surprisingly deadly. And you’ve gained quite the reputation for it,” he grinned. “You know the people on the beach are calling you Ninja Shouyou? You’ve gained a name for yourself, chibi-chan.”

Shouyou gave him a playful punch to the shoulder. “yeah, but you’re the other half of the duo, Watanabe Ken.”

His smile broadened as Oikawa laughed — a youthful, lively sound — and the two of them proceeded into the restaurant. It wasn’t a large place, as most of the seating was outside, and the interior wasn’t anything to brag about, but Shouyou rather liked the atmosphere. It was comforting and familiar. He could tell Oikawa liked it too by how relaxed he was when they walked in. They passed by the bar and to one of the tables outside, where their waiter seated them and left them to their devices while she went to seat another party. 

“What do you want to drink?” Shouyou asked him, looking at the menu. “They’ve got great spirits here, if you’re willing.”

He raised an eyebrow at Oikawa, who was staring at him with a mix of confusion and disbelief.

“How often do you drink?” He asked, seeming somewhat alarmed. Shouyou shrugged.

“Only sometimes, when I win bets on the beach,” he replied. “On celebratory occasions, you?”

Oikawa snorted. “I’m a man who likes to get properly wasted,” he replied. “Though I suppose just one wouldn’t hurt. . . Are you even old enough to drink? Thinking about you drunk feels illegal.” 

Shouyou went back to his teasing nature.

“What?” He smirked. “The drinking age here is 19, and I’m almost twenty. Besides, you’re not buying, so you can’t guilt me into avoiding it either.”

He rested his hand on top of Oikawa’s, and the older man blushed at the touch.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll only have one too,” Shouyou smiled at him sincerely. “I don’t want to worry you.”

Oikawa’s hesitant look changed to one of contentment, and he smiled back at Shouyou.

“Sometimes I forget we’re not kids anymore,” Oikawa chuckled, the statement just a touch wistful. “What would you recommend?”

“Hm,” Shouyou skimmed over the drink menu before pointing out the first one that caught his eye. “You’d like the leite de onça. It’s like . . . spicy milk, but sweet.”

Oikawa stared at him, a comically deadpan look on his face, though Shouyou could see the smile tugging at the corners of his lips

“Spicy milk?”

“Here, read for yourself,” Shouyou pushed the drink menu toward him. “I already know what I’m getting.”

Shouyou watched Oikawa’s eyes stare carefully at the menu, as if picking apart each drink. Finally, he pushed it back toward the center of the table.

“Spicy milk it is,” he said.

When the waitress came back, Shouyou ordered a glass of water and his caipirinha. Oikawa ordered his leite de onça afterward, and Shouyou’s mouth nearly fell open at his immaculate pronunciation. Shouyou should have realized spending years in Argentina would have taught him Spanish, which wasn’t all that different from Portuguese. Yet, still, the way it rolled off of his tongue so flawlessly made heat pool at the bottom of Shouyou’s stomach.She left them with the food menu, and the two of them looked over it with earnest. 

“I haven’t had much Brazilian food, so I’ll have to ask your opinion again,” Oikawa hummed as he looked over the menu.

“It takes some getting used to, but I doubt it’s all that different from what they have in Argentina,” Shouyou replied. “When I first got here from Japan, I would sit in a corner and eat the dried salmon I’d sneaked here from there because it made me feel less homesick. Pedro thought I was a nutcase.”

“I’m assuming Pedro’s your roommate?” Oikawa inquired. Shouyou smacked a hand to his forehead.

“Oh, yeah! I completely forgot to mention that!” He laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, he’s the one who texted me last night asking where I was. He made fun of me when I came back wearing your clothes. He thinks we slept together.”

Oikawa quirked an eyebrow. “But we did — _oh_ ,” he blinked several times in realization, his cheeks going pink again. He cleared his throat awkwardly, returning his gaze to the menu. “I would have probably thought the same thing, in that situation. Then again, I wouldn’t have minded if we actually did.” He looked at Shouyou flirtatiously over the top of the menu, and the ginger’s heart stopped beating momentarily. He was thankful his cheeks were hidden by the one he was holding. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that, other than,

“Me neither,” because that really was the truth.

Oikawa’s touch seemed to electrify him, and they pulled together like polar ends of magnets. With each passing second, the magnetism grew stronger. Shouyou knew in the back of his head that one day the force would be so strong that there’d be nothing separating them but their own skin, and that sent a sensual shiver down his spine. It felt impossible to stay away from him, no matter how hard he tried. Something about Oikawa just drew him in, and he could tell something about him must have drawn Oikawa in too.

He was able to resume normal conversation after the waitress had returned with their drinks, and taken their orders for food. Once again, Shouyou found the way Oikawa pronounced the names of the dishes incredibly hot, and once again, he’d been reduced to rosy cheeks. However, now he had the power of alcohol on his side, and the cocktail offered somewhat of a relief.

“How was camp today?” Shouyou asked. 

“Hell, but in a good way,” Oikawa replied, shrugging. “Playing with you on the beach is much more fun. I was thinking about you the whole time — Ramos is awful and I missed your smile. He always has this dumb, scowly look on his face that makes me want to punch it off of him.”

Shouyou chuckled. “Sounds like Kageyama.”

Oikawa hummed mildly. “Ah, so that’s where it’s from.”

He took a sip of his drink, and Shouyou watched his eyes widen in surprise as he took another right after.

“This is really good,” he said excitedly, and Shouyou laughed. At that moment, Oikawa had all of the characteristics of a puppy. The wide chocolate eyes, lifted brows, the excited smile. Shouyou could practically see the tail wagging in his imagination.

“Glad you think so,” he said. “I figured you might like it because you’re kind of a milk bread addict, from what I’ve heard.”

“And I _was_ recovering,” Oikawa lifted his glad pointedly. “Until I had this. _This_ , may perhaps be more dangerous. But man, do I miss milk bread.” He took another sip and set his glass down, sighing. “Where’d you hear that, anyway?”

“Some magazine in my first year,” Shouyou shrugged. “Tanaka was livid that they did a report on you.” He giggled. “You know, that’s how I put it together that you weren’t entirely straight.”

“Oi!” Oikawa feigned annoyance. “What about my milk bread obsession screams gay to you?”

“It wasn’t that,” Shouyou had to reign in his laughter. “It was your motto, actually. ‘If you’re gonna hit it—‘”

“Hit it ‘til it breaks,” Oikawa finished, pouting in defeat. “I suppose that’s fair.”

“That and the overwhelming amount of fangirls you had, none of which you accepted,” Shouyou reminded him.

“I had a girlfriend once, but only because Iwa had one too and I wanted to get back at him,” Oikawa rested his head sideways on his hand, like a little kid being told he had to eat his vegetables. “But she realized soon enough and she dumped me.”

“Pffff, her loss,” Shouyou took a sip of his caipirinha, dragging his tongue over his lips to lick up the bitter, sour taste that remained on them. Oikawa seemed like he’d just gotten lost in his own world, as his eyes dazedly followed Shouyou’s tongue and only snapped back into reality when it disappeared back in his mouth. His own pink lips were parted in mild surprise. Shouyou smiled at him. He hadn’t been trying to flirt then, but it seemed the other man was fond of his tongue.

“How about you?” Oikawa asked eventually. “Ever had a girlfriend? Or boyfriend?”

“I hooked up with Kenma a few times, but we weren’t ever anything serious,” Shouyou chuckled. “It was mostly to get Kuroo’s attention, and boy, did _that_ work.”

“I knew it!” Oikawa grinned, jabbing a finger at him. “You two were always surprisingly friendly, I suspected something was up.”

“Kageyama always started sulking whenever Kenma would set for me, even though at the time we’d been in an argument with each other,” Shouyou recalled fondly. “I don’t think he knew, I think he was just jealous I was spiking sets from somebody else.”

“Sounds like him,” Oikawa remarked, shaking his head with a laugh. “So possessive.”

Shouyou was spared from talking about Kageyama with the arrival of their food. Oikawa had ordered some prawn skewers, and Shouyou felt like he’d done that intentionally purely so he could make the joke he was about to make.

“Oi, chibi-chan,” he plucked one of the grilled shrimp off of the skewer with two fingers and presented it to Shouyou. “Look, it’s you!”

Shouyou scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Totally didn’t see that one coming.”

Oikawa popped it into his mouth, frowning at Shouyou. “At least pretend it was funny.”

“It was a little bit funny,” Shouyou admitted. This seemed to satisfy Oikawa, whose smile lit up his face once more.

Shouyou dug into his feijoada, thoroughly enjoying the savory stew. Playing on the beach had sure worked up an appetite, and he hadn’t had much to eat for lunch. Oikawa was suddenly ravenous too, and Shouyou remembered his own hunger from training camps at Karasuno. He tried not to look too hard at the way the prawn slid seamlessly between Oikawa’s lips and disappeared into his mouth. The way his perfectly straight teeth bit into the little shrimp carnivorously, predatorily almost. Shouyou wondered vaguely if Oikawa knew what his actions were doing to him.

“Something wrong?”

It seemed he did. His lips had formed into a wickedly innocent smirk, and as Shouyou’s eyes drew up and met his, he could see the playfulness and the satisfaction in them. The look a predator had when they knew their prey was cornered, yet wanted to give them a false sense of security. Yep. He was definitely doing that on purpose.

“Nothing,” Shouyou decided to keep his thoughts to himself. Two could play at that game. “You’ve got garlic on your nose.”

Oikawa went pink, and Shouyou laughed at his reaction. He internally remarked at how easy it was to turn the sly, stalking predator into fearful, panicking prey. Shouyou reached across the table with his napkin and brushed the offending garlic off, brushing Oikawa’s face ever so slightly with his fingers. All the while he held eye contact, and smirked in satisfaction when he noticed Oikawa had momentarily stopped breathing. He retracted his hand, smiling with playful innocence.

“You alright, _Oikawa-san?_ ”

The other’s breath seemed to hitch in his throat before he looked back down at his food moodily, his cheeks speaking for themselves.

“Never better,” he replied, only slightly sarcastically.

Shouyou took another sip of his cocktail to hide his grin. He was a little more than halfway through it, and could already start to feel the slight buzz of the alcohol in his system. The two of them finished off their meals quickly enough, and the waitress arrived to take away their plates. She asked if they wanted dessert, and the two decided on some sort of passion fruit mousse, which Oikawa yet again pronounced flawlessly.

“We should take a picture,” Shouyou suggested. “So we can look back on this and smile.”

“Not a bad idea,” Oikawa replied, taking out his phone. “You know, if we wait a few minutes, we can get the sunset in the background.”

Shouyou turned his head to look at the sun as it sank in the sky, the atmosphere morphing into surreal shades of pink and orange. It’s reflection was mirrored in the waves of the ocean, and the ginger found himself already getting caught up in the sight. He’d seen sunsets before, but that one in particular was especially beautiful.

_Snap!_

Shouyou turned back around to see that Oikawa had not-so-subtly taken a picture of him, and his face heated up.

“Hey!” He pouted. “What was that for?”

Oikawa looked down at the screen of his phone, smiling to himself.

“ _Beautiful_ ,” he breathed. “You’re like artwork.” He turned the screen around to show Shouyou. He couldn’t see what was so interesting about himself, but at the angle he’d taken the picture at, Shouyou’s jawline was defined nicely, and his tanned skin mirrored the orange light of the sun. The fact that Oikawa thought he was like artwork was enough to make him blush.Their dessert came soon after, sparing him from replying, and it was garnished with two little flowers and some passionfruit seeds.

“I’ve never had this before,” Shouyou mentioned, looking at it curiously.

In response, Oikawa took one of the spoons and scooped some of the mousse into it. Much to Shouyou’s surprise, he turned it around and offered it to him.

“You get the first bite, then,” he smiled.

Shouyou struggled to contain his accelerating heartbeat. This felt impossibly like a shoujo manga, being spoonfed by somebody he’d always found interesting and beautiful that somehow found him interesting and beautiful as well. Shouyou closed his eyes, accepting the first taste, and relishing the sweet flavor in his mouth.

_Snap!_

Crap, he’d fallen for it again.

He swallowed the dessert he’d eaten, turning to see that Oikawa had set his phone up against the side and taken a picture of the two of them when Shouyou hadn’t noticed.

“What does it look like?” He asked. Oikawa showed him the screen after he’d taken a good look grinning to himself. Their faces were slightly shaded by the sun in the background, but the pink sky behind them made up for it, and the lights of the restaurant illuminated them enough that Shouyou’s blush could be seen. Oikawa was smiling at him affectionately, holding the spoon with graceful fingers.

“Okay, that _is_ a pretty good picture,” Shouyou grinned. “Send that to me!”

“Of course,” Oikawa did so, and the buzz from Shouyou’s pocket affirmed that it went through. The two of them made quick work of their dessert, and within a few minutes, Shouyou had paid the bill and the two were downing the rest of their drinks, standing up to leave.

———

  
They walked together to the beach, hand in hand, and they sat together on a patch of sand. For a moment, they just watched the sun continue to set in silence, the placating push and pull of the waves lulling them into a peaceful state of mind. Shouyou turned to glance at Oikawa, who was gazing thoughtfully over the ocean. As the sun set, Oikawa seemed to glow like a greek god, his entire being suddenly bathed in gold. He looked absolutely _ethereal_ , and Shouyou couldn’t find the words to express that to him.

“You look beautiful when the sun hits your face like that,” he said quietly. “It’s almost unreal.”

Oikawa turned, smiling at him.

“You flatter me, Shouyou Hinata,” he replied.

“Call me Shouyou,” he heard himself saying.

“Call me Tooru,” the other said back.

Shouyou could have sworn he stopped breathing when Oikawa — _Tooru_ reached out with a hand to cup his face. The touch of his fingers on his cheek sent warmth throughout his entire body. Tooru was examining his face closely, his head tilting to the side as he stared. He rubbed a thumb over Shouyou’s cheek.

“Have you always had freckles?” He asked.

“I get them when I’m outside long enough,” Shouyou replied, struggling to keep his voice steady at their closeness. “They always disappear after a while, though.”

Tooru lifted his chin with his fingers, Shouyou’s face tilting up to stare into his. Shouyou could almost see himself reflected in Tooru’s eyes. He examined the spots across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose with wonder before declaring in a hushed whisper,

“I want to kiss every single one of them.”

 _Then do it,_ Shouyou was about to say. _Do it, because I want you to. All I want is to be close to you._ But he couldn’t say it. He couldn’t bring his mouth to form the words, but his eyes said it all.

“You know, I’m really glad I came to Rio,” Tooru murmured, smiling as his eyes drifted to the setting sun. “The sunsets are so beautiful.” His gaze returned intensely to Shouyou, as if he were watching the sun fall in his eyes. The ginger felt himself suck in a breath, his heart hammering thunderously in his chest.

“I’ve got two of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen,” Tooru murmured, his eyes drifting to Shouyou’s already parted lips. “Right here with me.”

Shouyou knew at the back of his mind that the third was in Japan, and was named Hajime Iwaizumi, but he blatantly ignored the nagging for the sake of his desire as he leaned in and met Tooru’s lips. When they kiss, he’s vaguely aware that his lips taste like lime and liquor, butTooru’s taste like cinnamon and condensed milk. So sweet he could drown in them. They shared something, in that first kiss. Something deep, soulful and intimate. In the way the sun feeds the leaves of a plant, and the plant breathes back oxygen into the atmosphere. They shared a _connection_ , in that first kiss. 

In the second, they asked for _more_.

Shouyou licked Tooru’s lips with his tongue, and Tooru graciously parted them further for him. His elegant fingers twisted themselves in Shouyou’s tangerine hair, and Shouyou’s hands traced their way up to Tooru’s soft, chocolate tresses as well. Their tongues danced elegantly together; shyly, but with intent, as both boys just urged to be _closer_ to one another. The hand that had been on Tooru’s chest moved upward over his shoulders and to the strong, lean muscles of his shoulders and upper back. Shouyou felt like he could do this forever — his head was both floating elsewhere and grounded here at the same time. He suddenly remembered that, _shit, they were in public_ , and he began to back off a little bit. Tooru read his actions, and the two broke apart a few seconds later. They stared at each other, both of their faces matching shades of pink. Tooru pulled him into an embrace, and Shouyou’s arms wrapped themselves around him.

“You know, I meant it when I said that you’re perfect,” Tooru smiled into the crook of his neck. “I know you were asking about your outfit, but I was talking about all of you.”

Shouyou could hardly believe his ears. Tooru was expertly chiseled, like a professional piece of artwork. Everything about him glowed. He had all of the talent and technique Shouyou longed his entire life for, and yet here he was, calling _Shouyou_ perfect.

He laughed softly into Tooru’s hair. “If I’m perfect, you must be . . . I don’t know, a god or something.” His lips kissed the top of his hair, the breeze brushing by both of them. “You’re . . . faultless. Incredible doesn’t even cut it.”

Tooru seemed to turn this over in his mind, and they sat there together on the beach as the sun sank slowly beneath the waves, waiting to come out the next day. Shouyou began to properly admire him. He gave him another gentle kiss on the head before moving to his forehead. He gently pulled Tooru away from his neck, kissing down the sides of his face to his jawline. Tooru’s eyes fluttered shut, and Shouyou moved back up to place feather-light kisses on each of his eyelids, followed by his nose. He stole another soft kiss on the lips before moving across his cheek to his ear, the words falling out of him before he could even think about what he was saying.

“If you’re a god, I’m ready to worship you,” he murmured softly. “As long as we’re here together, all I want is to be close to you. To devote myself to you, treat you like the divinity you are.”

Tooru shuddered at the praise, and Shouyou planted a few more light, teasing kisses on the lobe of his ear and his neck before slowly retracting. Tooru groaned quietly at the loss, opening his eyes that had become glazed over his lust. He twirled his finger around some of the strands in the ginger’s hair.

“Good grief, Shouyou,” he managed, a teasing smile on his face and his voice coming out in hardly more than a whisper. “You make me weak, you know that?”

_As long as I’m here, you’ll be the strongest!_   
  


_You make me weak, you know that?_

At any other time or day, Shouyou probably wouldn’t be able to decide which he preferred. But in the moment, here and now, Tooru’s helpless, lustful gaze was far more inviting. The choice was obvious.

He captured the other’s lips again, the waves rolling soundly behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAA  
> DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?  
> DO YOU SEE!? 
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoyed that. my brain is constantly rotting. I apologize for grammatical errors, I wanted to get this out and didn’t have all that much time or motivation to edit!


	5. your name, not his

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i said, “no one has to know what we do”  
> his hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room  
> and his voice is a familiar sound.  
> nothing lasts forever  
> but this is getting good now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> — SMUT WARNING —  
> Here it is for all you nasty freaks who wanted it (just kidding, this is extremely indulgent) and expect more in the future. Yes, this fic is loosely based off of wildest dreams by taylor swift (because what about that song DOESNT scream oihina fling in brazil). Also, this is my formal apology to all iwaoi shippers. Your time will come, don’t worry, but reading this might make you hurt a little bit but that means i did my job right.  
> Prepare yourself for smut with feelings, because that’s the only kind I know how to write.

  
Tooru Oikawa had never trusted anybody but himself. As far as he knew, he was the only one who could get things done the way he wanted. He couldn’t rely on people to make his life right. It was his path to carve out, and his only. He didn’t trust anyone else with the sculpting tools — he feared they would mess it up forever, and he would become irreparable.

But then he met Hajime Iwaizumi.

And since they were kids, Iwaizumi had pried open that little sliver of trust into an enormous canyon, deep and full of devotion and dedication. They held hands, took care of each other, brought each other up even when the other had taken them down. Oikawa was always the bolder one — Hajime would call him rash and reckless — so by law of nature he was the one who dove into said canyon head first. He fell, plummeted, turning to call up to his best friend, and the love of his life. Only for him not to follow.

Now, they were separated. And the canyon was much deeper than he’d originally surmised.He’d tried to work his way back up, but it was impossible. The walls were ridge-less and smooth, courtesy of the river of their friendship carving it out so effortlessly. The river was dried up, now, and as Oikawa walked back and forth along the bottom, he wondered if he would die here. It had returned to how it had been since the beginning; it was only himself he could trust, and himself alone.

But then he met Shouyou Hinata.

And for the first time since he’d moved to South America, his world truly felt like it had been flipped upside down. He’d given up on climbing out of the canyon — he’d been sitting at the bottom week after week, alone and just hardly getting by. But a rope had appeared from nowhere, and suddenly, Shouyou was the one pulling him up. Shouyou understood what it was like to feel betrayed, even if it wasn’t intentional. He understood how painful it was to be apart from the one person you thought you could truly ever love. He _understood_.

And that may have been why Tooru started to fall in love with him instead.

It wasn’t supposed to mean anything, that first time he’d entwined his fingers with Shouyou’s, but his touch was so warm and welcoming. Nothing like the harsh, Argentinian sun, but somehow equally radiant. He shone in everything he did. When he played, it was like watching the rays of sun themselves dance on the beach. He was Apollo, orchestrating his movements to his liking and leaving everyone in awe with his power. When he smiled, the world grew a little brighter, and it was incredibly infectious. His very being radiated with light, and Tooru thought amusedly to himself that Shouyou would give the sun itself a run for it’s money.

Tooru was impressed with how easily people were attracted to him, like moths to a flame, and he was one of them. Even the waitress last night couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of Shouyou, and he couldn’t blame her. He liked to think he stood out among the moths. He was a beanstalk, after all, and all plants needed the sun to grow. He wanted to bask in Shouyou’s warmth, wanted to reach out and touch him, because he had just been reminded of what it felt like to need somebody and he never wanted to let go.

The rest of the previous night flashed by him in a blur. He only remembered certain things. At some point, they’d gotten up to play volleyball again, and they’d faced off the brothers from the night before. Tooru had gotten the hang of stepping and jumping on the sand, and it came more easily to him than before. He remembered the way Shouyou had streaked by, his citrusy hair surrounding him like a halo as he leapt into the air and landed a successful spike. When it hit the sand, Tooru remembered how the both of them had cheered, their joyful whooping chorusing together in the night. He remembered winning their first set, and dancing around like a couple of idiots, jumping around with joy.

When Shouyou had set for him on a whim, and Tooru landed the spike, he felt incredible. It was like they could read each other’s minds. He remembered the look they shared, the one that said, _we’re gonna win this_ , and he loved it. This was the first time they’d given each other that look while on the same team. 

When they took the second set too, Tooru remembered the way Shouyou had leapt into his arms and Tooru had spun him around. He remembered the happiness he felt as he held the sun in his hands, and how they’d beamed equally as brightly back at each other. Tooru had the strongest urge to kiss him again, and he did, but only when he was sure everyone was too focused on their opponents to see. The brothers ended up buying them some more drinks, and they talked together and had an all around good time. Shouyou’s leg bumped against his under the table, and if somebody were to glance under they’d see that their hands were intertwined.

Ever since he’d come to Argentina, he’d forgotten that volleyball was fun. Shouyou reminded him of that, and now he wasn’t sure he’d ever enjoy himself just as much. Shouyou’s presence both on the court and beside him at the table was unique and irreplaceable. He couldn’t imagine anyone else there with him,

Not even Hajime Iwaizumi.

He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten back to his hotel room, or when. All he knew when he woke up was that his bed felt incredibly empty, and his head ached like shit. He checked his phone to see that Shouyou had texted him, both last night, and this morning.

**12:31 am  
**

**hey! i just got back  
to my apartment!**

**i hope you had fun  
tonight!**

**i miss** **you!!**

**6:45 am**

**i hope your lyft didn’t kidnap  
you, that would kind of suck.**

**i’m sure you just fell asleep,  
but have fun at camp today!**

**don’t kill your ace!**

**oh, and good morning!!**

God, he was so cute when he texted. Tooru could almost hear his voice saying those words directly to him. Whenever Hajime texted him he always sounded so serious. Shouyou was bright and bubbly and refreshing. 

**good morning !!**

**sorry, sunshine,  
i fell asleep**

**i had a lot of fun,  
thanks for last night!**

**you still owe me  
breakfast, though ;)**

Tooru proceeded to get ready while he waited for his reply. As he brushed his teeth, a memory came back to him from last night. Since both of them had gotten pretty wasted, it came in brief images and it took a few moments to piece the fragments together, but Tooru remembered some of them clear as day just by recalling what and how he’d felt.

He felt Shouyou’s hand on his thigh, tracing little circles on it sweetly. He felt his heart race as the ginger looked to him, raising an eyebrow, wordlessly asking, “is this okay?” Tooru remembered feeling special, thinking about how important he must be to Shouyou, who wanted to spoil him with his affection. He nodded, because it was more than okay. He wanted Shouyou as close as possible and his heart was hammering with the anticipation.

Tooru remembered how his breath had hitched in his throat as Shouyou’s teasing fingers drifted closer and closer to his groin. When they finally brushed against it, Tooru recalled how he’d shivered. Shouyou, who had been talking casually with the unsuspecting beer brothers, suddenly turned to look curiously at Tooru. His hand rested on Tooru’s inner thigh, and he nearly jumped when Shouyou squeezed it gently.

“Are you cold, Tooru?” He asked, and Tooru knew that he was the only one that could see the fiendish glint in Shouyou’s eye, as his expression was otherwise the perfect example of innocent concern. The sly bastard.

“No, I’m fine,” he managed. “Just got the chills for a second, there.”

“Yeah, the mead here’ll do that to ya,” one of the beer brothers said, and they launched into another conversation with Shouyou about alcohol. Tooru tried desperately to listen in, but the only thing he could focus on was Shouyou’s hand at the bulge in his shorts, and it was starting to become unbearable. It was when Shouyou started to palm him that he decided that the two of them needed to get out of there, STAT. He had to disguise a moan as a yawn, and looked to the other two, finding it nearly impossible to keep a straight face.

“We — I should probably be getting back now,” he said. “I’ve got camp bright and early in the morning and coach’ll kill me if I start slacking off on the third day.”

“Aw, sorry man,” one of the brother’s said. “But what else would you expect from a pro?”

“That’s okay,” the other added. “We’ll catch you later, Watanabe Ken.”

“I should probably go too,” Shouyou said ( _fucking finally,_ Tooru thought to himself). “My roommate’s probably worried about me.”

“See you later then too, Ninja Shouyou!” One waved.

“Great game today!” The other added.

When the two of them were a good enough ways away from the place they’d had their drinks at, Tooru pulled Shouyou into the space behind a building, lifting him and immediately kissing him deeply. Shouyou’s legs instantly wrapped around him, and both their erections ground against each other. It was like Tooru had forgotten how to breathe, and all of the oxygen that had been stolen from him was between Shouyou’s lips. He heard his and Shouyou’s noises of pleasure start to mix together in the otherwise quiet night. When they broke apart, they were panting messily, and a string of saliva still connected their lips.

“Come back to my room with me,” Tooru’s tone begged the request for him. He stared at Shouyou intensely, eyes lingering hungrily on the toned muscles of his beautiful, athletic body. “I want you.”

Shouyou smiled, nibbling his ear a little. “I want you too,” he whispered back. “But not now. We’re drunk, and I don’t want you to regret this.”

Tooru pouted.

“It’s not fair for you to get me all worked up like that and then shoot me down!” Tooru huffed indignantly, frowning.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Shouyou apologized sincerely, gentle fingers brushing the hair from Tooru’s face. “It was just so fun to watch you get all wound up like that. Besides, you liked it. I could see it in that pretty face of yours.”

Back in the bathroom of his hotel, Tooru blushed profusely, nearly dropping his toothbrush at the memory. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten drunk enough to ask Shouyou to have sex with him, and it was Shouyou who had been responsible enough to turn him down because they were inebriated. God, he felt like an idiot. And who taught Shouyou how to talk all bold and tease like that? It wasn’t fair, what those words did to him. Not at all.

It was all he could think about the rest of the day. All throughout camp the only thing on his mind was Shouyou, Shouyou, _Shouyou_. Apollo, who chose to grace the world with his presence in the form of Shouyou Hinata. His sunshine. His light. Tooru was a poetic man by nature, but with his adversary-turned-lover, the lines just seemed to write themselves. He remembered the absolute heat of Shouyou’s warmth, and knew it was only a fraction of what he could offer to Tooru. And as impatient as Tooru was, he wanted to see all of it.

So after a long day at camp that had passed in a haze of volleyball and drunken memories, he declined his team’s offer to go to dinner (yet again, for the third time) and returned to his room. He showered, washing the sweat off of his body and drying off his hair when he’d finished. His muscles ached from the strain of the past three days, especially due to he and Shouyou’s nightly games in addition to camp, and he doubted he’d be able to make it through another one tonight. He still longed for Shouyou’s touch, to see his brilliant smile, hear his sweet, nurturing voice. And so he messaged him. 

**shou-channnn**

**come over 🥺**

His reply was almost immediate, something Tooru appreciated (Hajime always took too long to reply). 

**aren’t you exhausted**   
**from practice?**

Tooru smiled at his phone — Shouyou was always so concerned for him.

**yeah, why do you think  
im texting you?**

**i need a pick-me-up,  
if you catch my drift.**

  
He imagined how red Shouyou’s face must have been at those words. He had the most adorable blush, and it was only revenge after the events of the previous night. His response was quick.

**on my way ❤️**

Tooru smiled at the little emoji.

**see you soon, love ❤️**

He hoped Shouyou liked the nickname.

He was lounging around in only a pair of sweats when Shouyou finally knocked. In the case of anybody else being in the hall, he threw a white button up over his shoulders, but didn’t bother buttoning it as he walked to the door. Tooru opened it, grinning down at him. Shouyou’s face went pink (so adorable) as he stared shamelessly at the front of Tooru’s torso.

“You tease,” Shouyou muttered, averting his gaze irritably and pushing Tooru backward into the room. He’d gotten so strong, Tooru was almost taken by surprise. He chuckled at Shouyou’s response, closing the door behind him.

“Oh, _I’m_ a tease?” He smirked. “Your memory of last night must be even foggier than mine.”

Shouyou hummed. “Fair.” He turned to Tooru, raising an eyebrow with concern. “How are you feeling? We both had a lot to drink last night. In your words, we got properly wasted. You must be exhausted.”

“I guess,” Tooru stretched his shoulders back. “I’m really sore, but the headache’s gone away.”

Shouyou tilted his head to the side like a cat. He offered Tooru a proposal.

“Do you want a massage or something? I’m really good at those!”

How was he supposed to turn that down?

“That . . .” Tooru trailed off at the thought of Shouyou’s hands on the bare skin of his back. “That would be nice. I haven’t gotten one in a long time.”

Shouyou frowned at him sternly. “You really need to take better care of yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay mom.”

For a second, all the times he’d said something of that nature to Iwaizumi flashed through his head, but he stuffed them away, because Shouyou was the one here with him now. Radiant Shouyou, with his tender brown eyes and his loving, gentle touch. Shouyou, who had located the massage oil on Tooru’s dresser where he’d directed him, Shouyou, who was now straddling his hips while Tooru laid facedown on his bed. The room smelled like citrus and cherry blossoms and lavender.

“You let me know when it hurts, okay?” Shouyou whispered softly in his ear. “I’ll be gentle, I promise. I meant what I said last night when I told you I’d treat you like a god.”

Tooru could only nod, because the heat of his breath and the heat of his hands on his skin were already incredibly stimulating. He couldn’t help the groan that escaped his lips when Shouyou pressed firmly down on his shoulders with the heels of his hand. Shouyou was just so warm and Tooru felt himself start to melt like wax as the man above him created impossible sensations with his hands on Tooru’s back. Shouyou leaned over to kiss his neck, his hands still unrelenting and molding in their ministrations. He did this in an effort to distract Tooru from the pain by providing him pleasure. The feeling of his lips on his skin in addition to the hands on his back gave Tooru the combined feeling of hot and cold, and he shivered in response.

“Still feeling okay?” Shouyou asked as he moved his hands lower on Tooru’s back. Tooru hardly bit back a moan.

“Amazing,” he breathed, feeling as though he’d been reduced to a puddle on the bed. “So amazing, love.”

Shouyou chuckled above him.

“So I’ve gone from Hinata to Shouyou to love within 24 hours?” He asked amusedly.

Tooru scoffed from beneath him. “Does it really surprise you? You know I hate when things go too slowly.”

“Are we moving fast enough for you?” The ginger inquired, working out a tough knot right below Tooru’s shoulder blades. Tooru hissed and swore under his breath, and Shouyou immediately backed off on the pressure.

“I’m not moaning your name yet,” Tooru’s thoughts traveled right from his head to his lips, spilling out of them with a sultry tone he wasn’t even quite sure he was in control of. “So I’ll have to go with no.”

Shouyou shivered above him, but continued his movements massaging Tooru’s lower back.He leaned back in to Tooru’s other ear, whispering into it once again. He stole the words Tooru had used the other day, but this time he meant it.

“We can have that arranged.”

Tooru gasped at the words, in addition to the feeling of pressure against a sore spot on his side, and he could feel Shouyou smirk beside his ear. It felt impossible, how quickly he could go from cute to hot to doting to hot again, but Tooru supposed he was the same way. They moved fast enough to just barely keep up with each other, and Tooru loved that. He loved the way Shouyou’s lips felt when they moved to his back. He was especially sensitive there, and Shouyou was gifting him with little drops of sunshine all long the broad expanse of his shoulders. Tooru gasped as he felt Shouyou begin to suck at a tender spot on the back of his neck, and whined needfully when he bit down. He tensed for only a moment before his body melted back into a puddle.

“You’d better hide that when you change,” Shouyou teased. “Or you’re gonna have a lot of questions to answer.”

“Oh please, the team’s come in with worse ones,” Tooru remarked. Any other person would have understood that as an expression of indifference, but Shouyou could read his mind, and he knew that was Tooru’s way of asking for more.

“Is that so?” Shouyou breathed, taking a break from working at Tooru’s muscles to move his mouth to a spot right above his waistband, and Tooru couldn’t help but moan again as his lips and teeth formed another bruise there. Tooru spilled over into more whines and weak noises as Shouyou continued to pepper him with kisses, and mark several spots of his back, as if to show that he’d been there. Tooru liked to think of them as little sunspots, of the markings you get from the sun when you lie in it too long. Tooru thought, as Shouyou continued to elicit noises from him that he’d forgotten he could make, he could lie in the sun forever.

Of course, only a fool would lie in the sun and trust it not to burn him.

Tooru Oikawa was a fool, through and through.

He was Icarus, and he wanted to fly as close to the sun as he could. He wanted to touch the orange halo surrounding the brightness of its smile. He wanted to bask in its light even as he plummeted toward the ocean. He wanted to feel the light touch every inch of him, wanted to feel Shouyou’s lips light him up and set him aflame.

Next thing he knew, he’d turned on his back, and Shouyou’s lips were finally on his again. Tooru nearly felt himself float away. In their closeness, Tooru could smell the sweet citrus of his shampoo, and breathed it in deeply as he tangled a fist in Shouyou‘s hair. Shouyou’s warm hands roamed over his shoulders to his chest, where they traced themselves over each of his muscles and explored every crevice of his being. Tooru slid his hands from Shouyou’s hair down to his stomach, then slid them upward. With his eyes closed, he mapped out the rises and falls of Shouyou’s torso, felt the way his muscles tightened in his back. They broke the kiss only to slide his shirt off and toss it to the side, leaving them both in their sweatpants.

Tooru released a needy moan when Shouyou’s hips began to grind into his, and Shouyou grinned into the kiss.

“Just tell me what you want, Tooru,” he said, and Tooru shuddered at hearing his own name spoken so sweetly by Apollo himself. He wasn’t at a loss for words, he just had so many he wanted to say all at once.

_I want you to break me and build me up again._

_I want you to tear me apart and put me back together._

_I want you to ruin and revive me._

“I want you to fuck me, Shou,” is what he said, and the ginger’s eyes widened in response. “I want you to fuck me so hard I forget his name and my own.” He tangled his hand in Shouyou’s tangerine hair again, staring him straight in his beautiful, doe eyes. He didn’t have to clarify who _he_ was; Shouyou could read him like a book. “The only one I want to know is yours.”

He wasn’t sure whose heartbeat was going faster, but he could feel both of theirs against his chest and as far as he could tell they were in perfect synchronization. He knew he would never have this with Hajime. Tooru had always been a step ahead, while Hajime had always been hesitant. But here was Shouyou, bright and brilliant and glorious, and he was ready to dive in headfirst, holding Tooru’s hand for good measure. Even now, he intertwined one of his hands in Tooru’s and squeezed it encouragingly, reassuringly. _If we fall, we fall together._

_ I’ll carry you, Icarus, and we’ll sink beneath the waves as one. _

“Your wish is my command,” he replied, voice soft and pure. “But only if you’re sure you want it, because in all honesty,” his eyes flashed with desire for a second before returning to their loving gaze, “once I start, I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself.”

Tooru shuddered. That was exactly what he’d wanted to hear.

“Perfect,” he murmured, caressing Shouyou’s face with his fingertips. He paused for a moment, coming to a realization he hadn’t before. “Is this . . . Is this your first time?”

Shouyou laughed nervously. “Yeah, it is. Is that okay?”

Tooru brushed away his nervousness with a swipe of his thumb across his cheek. “Of course it’s okay, sunshine. I’m willing to be patient.” He felt guilty for a moment. “I’m sorry for asking so much of you. I guess I just kind of got caught up in the moment and—”

“It’s okay, Tooru. You don’t have to apologize,” Shouyou reassured him, kissing his forehead tenderly. “You know I’m a quick learner. Just tell me what feels good and I’ll do everything you ask of me.”

Tooru’s fingertips traced themselves on Shouyou’s shoulders, down his arms, and back up to his hair. “You truly are too good for this world.”

Shouyou smiled brightly in response, giving Tooru a chaste kiss on the cheek.

“I had the foresight today to buy what we need, so I came prepared,” the ginger winked at him teasingly, reaching behind himself on the bed and returning with a bottle of lube and a condom. “Kind of embarrassing to explain to the cashier that I’m an adult. I don’t think he believed me.”

Tooru laughed, and Shouyou rolled his eyes at him.

“You’re in no position to be laughing at me,” he scolded him, setting the supplies down beside him and returning his full attention to making Tooru feel good. He was incredibly good at that. He leaned forward, lips brushing by Tooru’s ear again. “Now just relax, okay? Let me take care of you.”

Tooru was happy to oblige. Shouyou nibbled his ear affectionately before setting his sights on his neck. The touch of his lips against his sensitive spots made Tooru shiver with anticipation once again. Shouyou didn’t hesitate to leave even more bite marks, and Tooru could feel his skin blossoming into shades of pink and purple, the ginger leaving a whole garden over his neck and his collarbone. All the while, Shouyou’s hand was undoing the knot in Tooru’s sweatpants, and once he’d succeeded, his finger was teasing along the waistline of his boxers. Tooru ran his hands along Shouyou’s back while he hummed and whined to let him know how good it felt, his breathing going unsteady several times. He felt the oxygen hitch in his throat as Shouyou’s thumb began to tease the tip of his cock, and his head started to spin while his eyes fluttered shut. Marking the blank canvas of Tooru’s torso with his signature, Shouyou left a trail of hickeys downward, leaving a few on his v-line. He then proceeded to his thighs, where Tooru couldn’t help but tangle his hand in Shouyou’s hair, because he was panting with pleasure and he didn’t know what else to do. Shouyou took his time with him, making sure he felt every bit as good as he deserved.

He gasped when he felt Shouyou’s tongue lick a stripe up the side of his member. All of his nerves that had been begging to be stimulated were suddenly granted their wish, and the sensation of it made Tooru dizzy. He moaned, loud and needy, when Shouyou took him in his mouth, pumping at the base with one hand and tracing patterns along his thigh with the other. Tooru had to put both hands in Shouyou’s hair, his head falling backward in pleasure as he started to lose himself. He wondered vaguely if this was Shouyou’s first time giving head, because somehow he was doing a damn incredible job. Quick learner indeed.

Shouyou smiled around his dick as he played Tooru like an instrument, each swirl of his tongue bringing out a different noise from the other man. He hardly noticed when his hands disappeared, and only looked up when Shouyou popped off of him with a light kiss. He tilted his head to the side as he squirted some of the lube onto his fingers, and Tooru felt his heart start to race even faster with anticipation.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

Tooru nodded, almost too quickly, his breath coming in pants. “Whenever you are, sunshine.”

He bent his legs up a bit closer to his chest, giving Shouyou time to mentally prepare himself. He felt a finger nudge at his entrance, hesitate for a second, and then slowly start to push in. Tooru sucked in a breath, making a low whine in his throat. He hadn’t had anybody but himself down there in months, and he could feel himself clenching against Shouyou’s finger with need.

“Tooru, babe,” Shouyou said quietly, a comforting hand still on his thigh. “I’m gonna need you to relax, okay?”

Tooru nodded, taking a deep breath and releasing it. Shouyou was patient and gentle with his movements, thrusting his finger in and out a few times before adding a second. He made sure to thoroughly coat Tooru’s walls with lube, thrusting and scissoring and stretching him in just the right way. Preparing Tooru for his ruination.

“Ah! Sh-Shou,” Tooru barely managed, his mind in another dimension at this point. “G-God, just fuck me already!”

Shouyou laughed, planting a kiss on his thigh. “I thought you’d never ask.”

He continued to work Tooru’s insides with one hand while he held the package of the condom in the other, proceeding to tear it open with his teeth, and _shit was that hot_. He paused only to put it on and lube himself up. The feeling of Shouyou’s hands on his hips made Tooru dizzy, and it was from far away that he heard Shouyou’s voice tell him that he was going in. All he could feel now was Shouyou pushing through his entrance, his walls stretching even further around him. The ginger above him gasped and let out a moan, and Tooru shuddered at the noise.

“Fuck, Tooru, you’re so tight,” Shouyou hissed, and it made Tooru smile knowing that Shouyou felt good. Once he’d buried himself most of the way in, he pulled out slightly, then thrust in once all the way, still gripping Tooru’s hips. Tooru let out a loud cry that quickly turned into a moan, and covered his mouth with his hand, knowing that there could be people nearby. However, Shouyou had other ideas, and he lifted his hand off of his mouth, lacing their fingers together.

“I wanna hear how good I’m fucking you, babe,” Shouyou told him, planting a kiss on his jaw. “And I can’t do that when you’re hiding those noises from me. Don’t worry,” he brushed a piece of Tooru’s hair behind his ear, his voice soothing. “It’s only you and me. Just let everything else fade away.”

Tooru did as he asked, leaving his hand off of his mouth and instead placing both of them on Shouyou’s back. He was right. It was only him and Shouyou. He wasn’t going to let anybody limit him. Not himself, not his neighbors, and not Hajime Iwaizumi. As Shouyou began to thrust again, Tooru gripped his shoulders tighter, and when he hit his prostate, he moaned even louder and dug his nails into Shouyou’s back. The ginger seemed to like this, because that spurred him to go on even faster.

Shouyou must have really liked when he made noise, because even though the both of them were sweating and panting in a mess of lust and tucked away aches and feelings, he was smiling.

“You’re doing so good Tooru,” Shouyou told him. “You sound so beautiful. I could listen to you moan like that all day.”

The praise made his head spin, and he knew by this point that there were going to be records of his nails scratching Shouyou’s back by tomorrow morning. He supposed it was only fair. Shouyou had gotten to leave his mark on Tooru, and now it was Tooru’s turn to grant him the same. Shouyou’s grip on his hips threatened to leave bruises of his fingerprints, and Tooru was already looking forward to admiring them the next morning. But now, all he could feel or even think about was Shouyou inside him, pressing all of the right buttons and leaving him no room to do anything but fall apart beneath him.

Only a fool would lie in the sun and trust it not to burn him, and Tooru was that fool.

“I’ll take care of you like you deserve, I promise,” Shouyou whispered into his ear as his thrusts elicited moans and whines from the other boy. “I’ll treat you like the royalty you are.”

“F-fuck, S-Shouyou,” Tooru moaned, “I-I’m close.”

“M-me too,” Shouyou’s reply was breathy and stuttering. Under his breath, he gasped. “T-Tooru, you’re perfect, you know that?”

And there were the saintly words of Apollo, blessing him with the compliments he knew he didn’t deserve, but he let himself believe he did, just in this moment.

“Nothing compared to you,” he said back sweetly, his nails scratching yet another track down Shouyou’s shoulders. Yet again, all he could think of was Shouyou, Shouyou, _Shouyou_. Tooru smiled when he realized tha the other had made good on his request. All he knew was Shouyou. Nobody else could have made him feel this way. Not himself, not anybody, and especially not the one who had left him in pain, whose name he couldn’t bring himself to remember. He was burning up, being absorbed by the desperate heat, and he loved it. He loved feeling Shouyou’s flaming skin beneath his hands, hearing the way their breaths mixed with one another. The way their heartbeats had begun to beat as one. He loved the way the world went a blinding white for a moment as he came, and when his vision was restored, all he could see was Shouyou. They called out for one another as they climaxed.

“Shouyou!”

“Tooru!”

And after a few glorious moments, when Tooru had become one with the sun, they returned to the bedroom, lying together in a sweaty heap. Shouyou pulled out of him, only sitting up to drop the condom into the trash before collapsing onto Tooru once again, his head lying on his his chest, listening to Tooru’s slowing heart. Tooru thought it must be some sort of sorcery, how Shouyou could still smell so vividly of oranges. With their bodies pressed together like this, Tooru could see all of the irritated skin on Shouyou’s back, could see the places he’d raked his nails down his beautiful skin, and traced the areas tenderly to soothe them. Shouyou looked up from his position, carding back some of the sweaty hair that had fallen into Tooru’s face.

Tooru melted into his touch as Shouyou wiped the tears from his cheeks. He hadn’t even realized he’d been crying. Everything just felt so good.

“You took me so well, Tooru,” he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on the corner of his lip. “You did so amazing. Are you feeling okay?”

“Never better, Shou,” he said truthfully, smiling. “Thank you. You did incredible. I’m having trouble believing that this is your first time.”

“What did I tell you?” Shouyou beamed tiredly. “I’m a quick learner.” He pressed a kiss to Tooru’s neck before lying back down and closing his eyes. “This feels too good to be real.” He murmured sleepily. 

“It usually does the first time,” Tooru replied, but he felt the same. He wasn’t a virgin by any means, but this time in particular felt better than anybody he’d had in a long time. It was the connection, the emotions, the feeling of burning and bursting into flames that he knew only Shouyou could provide. 

It was forgetting _him_ , and knowing only Shouyou Hinata. 

Tooru would have asked for him to stay, but it seemed like Shouyou had no intention of leaving. Tooru was perfectly content to just lie there in his own sweat, holding the sun in his arms yet again. Shouyou seemed to have already fallen asleep, one of his arms tangled in Tooru’s hair and the other clinging to his side across his body. Tooru sat up only slightly to kiss the top of his head, and then wrapped his arms around Shouyou’s middle. He fell asleep to the other man’s soft snores on his chest, and for the first time in a long time, Tooru felt that he might just be in love. 

  
— a few hours later, on Shouyou’s phone —

**  
1:47 am**   
**Pedro**

**let me guess, you’re  
staying over? **

**2:15 am**

**ha. figures.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha ha.  
> hahaha.  
> feelings 😔✋.  
> also my favorite thing is comparing hinata to the sun because that’s really what he is but even better is comparing him to apollo because that’s also what he is and all the references to greek mythology just make my heart happy.


	6. i hate the beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobio has his first session with Hajime Iwaizumi. They get lunch first, and said athletic trainer casually suggests blowing Brazil off the map.  
> Obviously, they get along sportingly.  
> (maybe too sportingly)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case one massage scene wasn’t enough,  
> You get ANOTHER ONE  
> Call me DJ Khaled.  
> No smut though, it’s actually just gay and fluffy.  
> Just a couple’a guys being dudes, just a couple’a dudes bonding over their heartbreak.  
> (also yes, the next two chapters are indeed a sweater weather reference)

  
  


“Good to see you again, Kageyama.”

“You too, Iwaizumi.”

They shook hands, and Tobio felt how rough and calloused his was in comparison to Tobio’s long, slender fingers. Iwaizumi was much tanner than him, and had several spots on his arm from the time he spent in the sun in California. Tobio wondered vaguely if Hinata would return with such spots before pushing his thoughts away. Ever since he’d been sent that picture all he could think about was that idiot in Brazil with Oikawa, doing things that made Tobio feel sick to his stomach. He wasn’t sure which was worse — Hinata thinking that he and Oikawa had a better set-spike dynamic than he and Tobio did, or Hinata thinking he was better off with Oikawa in general. 

It also bugged him greatly that Hinata hadn’t responded to the last text he’d sent him. He typically responded pretty quick, and it had been about a day and a half and there was still no reply. Tobio had chuckled at the remark about Ushijima on Tuesday evening, but it was now late Thursday morning and there was still no response. He’d gone back multiple times to make sure he’d replied (he had) and even though it wasn’t anything particularly witty he expected the ginger to send something back like he normally did.

He couldn’t worry about it right now, however, because he and Aoba Johsai’s old ace were about to get lunch together, and they had a lot to discuss. Afterward, they were planning on visiting the gym at Kitagawa to get in some practice. They were alumni, and honored ones in sports at that, and so after contacting the office they had no trouble booking the gym for a few hours during the school day. It was used for practices after school anyway, besides the occasional fitness class, who mostly worked outside.

“When you said you’d be in town soon, I didn’t expect you meant a few days,” Tobio said, raising an eyebrow. “Not that I mind you being here, of course. But the Olympics are over a month away.”

“I know,” Iwaizumi shrugged. “I booked my flight here after you called me. I guess this is just where I wanted to be.”

Tobio nodded. “Can’t blame you for that.” Though he didn’t say it aloud specifically, Tobio knew what he meant. He could read behind his words, which really said _“I was lonely and I wanted to come back home.”_ Tobio was pretty dense normally, but he understood Iwaizumi because their personalities were pretty similar. Straightforward, stubborn, sarcastic, and severely unable to express their emotions. But they got each other, so it wasn’t as bad.

Neither of them were particularly talkative, so they walked mostly in silence to the restaurant the two of them were planning to eat at. Tobio gazed around at the familiar streets and buildings, recalling the times he’d walked by them with Hinata on the way home, or the times they traveled as a team for a meal.

“Where are we going, again?” Iwaizumi asked him as they turned a corner.

“It’s the place Coach Ukai took us after we lost to you guys during the Prefectural Qualifiersfor the first Interhigh tournament,” Tobio replied, looking thoughtfully ahead. “I remember we all felt like we didn’t deserve the food after our loss. But then, he told us to eat and grow stronger, and we took it to heart. Instead of moping around in our loss we strengthened our resolve to improve. We worked our asses off after that day, and that’s how we ended up beating you in the end.”

Iwaizumi was silent beside him, and Tobio realized he’d said too much when he had started rambling.

“S-sorry!” He said quickly, causing Iwaizumi to raise an eyebrow at him. He scratched his head nervously. “I didn’t mean to say all that. And I know that loss was rough for you guys.”

Iwaizumi laughed it off, a low, rough sound that came from his chest. “Don’t worry about that, I’m over it. I was just thinking about how down I felt after that match. I put all the blame on myself for not making that spike, and surprisingly Oikawa was the one to tell me to stop blaming myself for it.” He shook his head. “Usually it’s the other way around. But yeah, I guess the both of us have grown a lot, and losing that match was just the start of it.”

He had a sort of faraway look in his eye, and Tobio wondered if that was the same look he had when thinking about Hinata. He could tell Iwaizumi was thinking about Oikawa by the way the corners of his mouth tilted down, then up, then down again, and the way his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Tobio wasn’t sure what sort of innate consoling sense within him moved him to do this, because he didn’t have a sensitive bone in his body, but he placed his hand on Iwaizumi’s back to remind him that he was there. That he _understood_. Iwaizumi’s eyes widened for a second before he looked back at Tobio with a smile. The squareness of his jaw almost seemed to soften as he flashed Tobio an apologetic grin.

“Sorry about that, I got lost in my head again,” he said. “I tend to do that a lot, nowadays.”

“Yeah, me too,” Tobio agreed. “Either I throw my everything into volleyball or I’m sitting at home and trying to figure out just what went wrong.” He sighed. “Of course, I know what went wrong, but I always try to pick it apart in a way that doesn’t make it my fault. Or anybody’s really. But it is my fault.”

“But can you do anything about it?” Iwaizumi asked. Tobio shook his head.

“If I could, I would have,” he said immediately. Iwaizumi smiled again, patting him on the back this time.

“Then let it go,” he said, squeezing his shoulder. “You can’t go back, so all you can do is look ahead. Growth doesn’t just happen in volleyball. You’ve gotta let your heart grow too. Move past mistakes and taller, stronger, so you can take anything else that comes your way.”

 _Right_ , Tobio thought to himself. _That’s the only way I can reach the sun._

“Thanks,” he said, knowing that if he said that aloud Iwaizumi would probably laugh at him for making analogies out of his crappy love life. He realized they were at the door, and cleared his throat. “We’re here, by the way.”

He held the door open for Iwaizumi, and the two walked in together. Tobio froze as he glanced to his right at the long table on the side. Iwaizumi was watching him, and so he pointed to a spot near the center of the table, where two empty chairs sat as if waiting for two people in particular to return and sit on them. Tobio could almost see the orange halo in one, could almost hear the choked sobs coming from it, and could still feel the need to wipe away Hinata’s tears. At the time, he didn’t know why he felt that way, but the simple explanation was that he had fallen in love without even knowing.

“That’s where Hinata and I sat,” he told Iwaizumi. “I can still hear everybody’s crying in the back of my head. The poor woman working here must have thought we were crazy.”

Iwaizumi chuckled, and Tobio tore his eyes away from the sight when the hostess came to seat them. It was probably for the best that the long table was out of sight from the table where the two of them sat. _Just look ahead, Tobio. You can’t change what’s already happened._

“What do you think they’re doing right now?” He found himself asking. He didn’t have to clarify who _they_ were — Iwaizumi understood. He felt stupid and insecure as soon as he’d said it, but Iwaizumi didn’t get on him about it. 

“Well, Oikawa’s probably at training camp right now. I don’t know Hinata that well, so I couldn’t guess what he’s up to,” he shrugged. He laughed humorlessly, his tone taking on a bitter edge. “I guess the better question is what they’ll be doing later tonight.”

Tobio grimaced. “Hinata’s been playing beach volleyball over four hours a day every day. I don’t know how he doesn’t get tired. They’ve probably started playing together at night,” Tobio looked up to Iwaizumi, raising an eyebrow. “Is it bad that I feel betrayed when I think about him spiking sets from somebody else?”

The other man snorted from across the table.

“Probably,” he said with a wry grin. “But thinking about Oikawa setting to somebody else feels wrong too, so I can’t get on your case about it.” After a pause, he let out a sad sort of laugh. “Wow, we are really pathetic right now, aren’t we?”

Tobio snorted. “Sounds about right.

“I hate Brazil,” Iwaizumi said dispassionately. “Let’s blow it off the map or something.”

Tobio laughed, and Iwaizumi feigned seriousness, though the tug at his lips gave him away.

“I wasn’t joking, you know,” he said. “I bet we could do it. Then they’d _have_ to come back with us.”

“I don’t get why Hinata had to go all the way to Brazil to train on the beach,” Tobio rolled his eyes. “There’s beaches in Japan. Hell, I could have just built him a sandbox or something and he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”

Iwaizumi slapped his hand on the table with laughter. “Who would want to go to the beach anyway? The sand sticks to your skin and the sun just burns, and there’s always little kids running around and pissing in the ocean.”

“I know right!” Tobio exclaimed, glad somebody shared his displeasure for the beach. People used to make fun of him for it, though he’d just never seen what was so great about it. People (Hinata, specifically) always attributed his hatred for the beach to not being able to swim (which he couldn’t, but that was besides the point), and teased him about it. He missed Hinata’s teasing. “I hate the beach.” He said moodily. “And Brazil.”

“It’s ridiculous how much pain somebody can put you in from the other side of the damn ocean,” he ran a hand through his hair, which Tobio realized looked longer than the last time he’d seen it. “I still can’t comprehend how that’s even possible.”

“That’s just the way it is,” Tobio sighed. “We’re the grounded ones. Oikawa’s crazy and unpredictable, he could take off at any given moment. Hinata’s the same way. For all we know, the two of them could be doing the damn tango in the sky as we speak.”

This mental image made Iwaizumi laugh again, with a genuine smile, and for some reason it gave Tobio a warm feeling. He never thought he liked to make other people happy, but he supposed that Iwaizumi might have been a different case. He continued to speak, the metaphor spilling out of his lips without even having to think much about it.

“But you and I, we’re like the soil and the shadow. We’re stuck on the ground, keeping those two dumbasses in place. When the sun moves, I move with it. I keep Hinata in check from below,” he pointed at Iwaizumi. “You were the only thing keeping Oikawa rooted, but when you two separated, he’s gotten even further away than before. Of course, just like the sun rises and sets, what comes up must come back down,” he took a sip of his milk. “However, the further up something is, the longer it takes to come back down. So for now, I guess, the two of us are just stuck here on the ground.”

Iwaizumi was silent for a moment, and Tobio thought for a fleeting second that he was going to make fun of his metaphor, but instead, he nodded.

“You’re right,” he said. “That’s . . . Actually the best way I’ve ever heard it be put. As much as it sucks, it’s completely true.” Iwaizumi sighed, raising his glass of water with an intentional lack of enthusiasm. “To being stuck on the ground?”

Tobio smiled ruefully, lifting his glass of milk. “To being stuck on the ground.”

They both drank, and simultaneously let out a refreshed “ _ahhhh_ ” after they’d finished. The mood was instantly lightened again, and Iwaizumi snickered at him.

“I can’t believe you _willingly_ drink milk,” he said. Tobio looked at him affrontedly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Tobio frowned at him. “It’s good for you!”

“I know, I know,” Iwaizumi shook his head. “But who goes to a restaurant and orders _milk?_ What are you, three?”

“I’m two years younger than you!” Tobio protested. Iwaizumi barked out a laugh, and Tobio’s eyes were suddenly glued to the way his throat moved as he did so. He noticed that when Iwaizumi smiled, he had sharpened canines that looked like fangs, and _damn was that hot._ He snapped back to reality when he felt Iwaizumi’s large, rough hand ruffling his hair teasingly.

“Gotta drink your milk to get big and strong, huh, Tobio?”

“Piss off.”

The setter glared at him, realizing startlingly that he liked the way Iwaizumi said his name. He liked it a _lot_. He hid his blush by scowling and looking away, because he couldn’t stand to think how red his face would get when he looked at Iwaizumi’s teasing grin, or just Iwaizumi in general. Tobio had to admit to himself, he’d gotten _hot_ in the years that they hadn’t seen each other. In addition to growing taller than Tobio, Iwaizumi had bulked up impossibly more than he had been before, and his skin was tan and taut around his muscles. And those _hands_. Tobio had never understood why people had a thing for hands, but one look at Iwaizumi’s, and he understood perfectly. He was built like a gym junkie with the boyish charm of a university student, and his face was all perfectly chiseled lines but with soft, caring eyes. Being as detail oriented as he was, Tobio could have stared at him for hours trying to pick apart exactly what about him made him look like an Olympian god in human form, but the best he could do was accept the facts. Hajime Iwaizumi was extremely attractive, and Tobio couldn’t fathom how he didn’t notice this before.

Their food came, and the two of them ate in a peaceful silence, occasionally catching each other stealing glances at one another. Tobio wasn’t sure why Iwaizumi kept looking at him, unless he had something to say.

“Spit it out,” he said finally. “What’s wrong?”

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at him innocently. “Wrong? Nothing’s wrong.”

“Then why do you keep looking at me like that?” Tobio raised an eyebrow.

Iwaizumi shrugged. “You’re nice to look at.”

Now _that_ , he absolutely wasn’t expecting.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Tobio’s heart had just started running marathons in his chest.

“It doesn’t have to mean anything, it’s just a fact,” Iwaizumi took another sip of his water, and yet again Tobio’s eyes were drawn to the way his jawline sharpened and his throat bobbed. He looked back at Tobio with a small, teasing smile on his lips. “Forget I even said it.”

“Sure,” said Tobio, more than ready to keep eating his food in peace when,

“Just don’t act like you haven’t been eyeing me up either.”

He nearly choked on his food, swallowing thickly. Now his face _did_ turn absolutely red, and Iwaizumi had that challenging, smug smirk on his face again.

“I can’t help it,” Tobio scowled in his defense. “You’ve changed a lot since high school. What could you possibly need that much arm muscle for?”

“Oh, leaving people speechless, beating up drunks, wooing adorers such as yourself,” Iwaizumi said with an exaggeratedly lofty tone, as an afterthought he added. “Oh, and lifting weights for my _literal job._ ”

“Tch,” Tobio rolled his eyes. “Show off.”

Iwaizumi snickered. “I bet I could bench you.”

Tobio smirked. “I’d like to see you try, _Iwa-chan._ ”

Iwaizumi cocked his head to the side, a certain fire in his eyes. “Is that a challenge, _Tobio-chan?_ ” He raised an eyebrow. “And stealing Shittykawa’s nicknames, are you?”

 _Yeah_ , he thought to himself, _and if I don’t get a hold of myself I might just steal his ex too._

“Sure,” Tobio replied coolly, despite his internal screaming. “Make it a date.”

Either Iwaizumi ignored his word choice, or was into it, because his grin only widened.

“You’re on.”   
  


———

It was with high spirits that they ended lunch that day and set off to their old middle school, now walking much closer together than before. The streets were more crowded, after all, but there was plenty of room to either of their sides and yet neither of them decided to take it. They sped up when the school was in sight, and passed by a few students still milling about on the grounds. A few of them recognized Tobio, and he waved to those that pointed at him and whispered to each other. Tobio couldn’t believe he’d ever been that small, and he felt suddenly incredibly tall as they approached the gym of Kitagawa First. The key had been below the mat, as promised, and it felt small in his hands as he unlocked the doors.

His head swam as he was hit with a wave of nostalgia, and he grasped for something, _anything_ to hold himself to the present. That happened to be Iwaizumi’s shirt, and the older man didn’t seem to mind. Obviously, it wasn’t exactly the same as it had been when they had gone to school there. The walls were still the same white, but the floor was a lighter wood, and looked softer than their previous floors. The alumni wall was still there, and Tobio cracked a grin upon seeing his old junior high portrait on it. Oikawa’s was up there too. They were the only two that had gone Pro for volleyball from their old team.

“There you are,” Iwaizumi said, catching and following his gaze. He chuckled. “Oikawa will throw a fit when he finds out your portrait is bigger than his.”

“Well, I’m playing for Japan, he should expect it,” Tobio said, just a touch haughtily. Iwaizumi laughed.

“He was always jealous of you,” he said. “He said I liked you better than him.”

“Did you?” Tobio asked, knowing it was a stupid question.

“Sometimes,” and that answer surprised him, until, “but at the end of the day, he was still my best friend, and I loved him. Even if I didn’t know it yet.”

Tobio sighed, his earlier sadness starting to creep in again. “Sounds familiar.”

 _Keep moving forward, Tobio. Look ahead_.

“I’m not losing to him,” Tobio muttered, staring at Oikawa’s portrait. “Not again. Not ever.”

“Is it really your choice?” Iwaizume looked at him seriously, knowing that this wasn’t about volleyball. “If Hinata has feelings for him, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

At Tobio’s silence, he continued, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Tobio leaned helplessly into the touch. 

“Tooru’s love is intense,” Iwaizumi said. “Even I couldn’t handle it. But I know Hinata can, because he’s intense too.” He took a deep breath, and his next words took Tobio by surprise. “I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been heartbroken, or because I’m just depressed, but I haven’t laughed like that with anybody in such a long time, much less flirted with anybody.”

“Ah, so you’re admitting to it,” Tobio said dryly, failing to ignore the heat in his cheeks.

“There’s no point hiding it,” Iwaizumi shrugged. “Maybe . . . Maybe we were wrong, in waiting for them. Maybe we could move past it. Because I—” he gulped, and Tobio realized that he was nervous. Iwaizumi removed his hand from Tobio’s shoulder to bury his face in his hands, but the blush creeped down his neck. “— I can’t stop looking at you. And I get it, if you don’t feel the same way. I mean, this is the first time we’ve seen each other in years. But you’re just — you’re so _familiar_ , yet so new, and you understand me and how my brain works because you’re the same.”

Tobio took a minute to process this, feeling dizzy on his feet. He felt the same, but a part of him felt like he was betraying Shouyou. Maybe Iwaizumi was right. Maybe the two of them were falling in love in Rio, and maybe they were happier together. Having Iwaizumi here was better than sitting alone with nobody at all, and so he sought out Iwaizumi’s hand with his own as an affirmation, because he didn’t trust himself to put together words.

As if reading his mind, Iwaizumi smiled. “We’ll take it slow,” he said soothingly. “I’ll give you time to change your mind. For now, I owe you a session, as promised.”

Their hands still intertwined, they walked over to the storage cabinet to pull out the familiar cart of volleyballs. Just the smell was another overwhelming wave of nostalgia, and Tobio had to pause for a minute before proceeding. The nets were already set up for them, and so Tobio grabbed a ball and bounced it twice on the ground. The familiar sound brought his senses and his reality back to him, and he felt like he was in his element once again.

They started off with some warm ups and stretches, Tobio trying desperately not to stare too hard at Iwaizumi’s muscles, or think about his hands on his lower back as he pressed him forward into a stretch. Tobio was certain Iwaizumi was counting softly in his ear on purpose while he held stretches, and he was close to punching him for being such a damn flirt. By the end of around 25 minutes, they were ready to start getting to work. They approached the volleyball cart once again, ready to start drills.

Tobio smirked, an idea coming to his mind for the revenge for his flirting.

“Think fast!” He shouted suddenly, and threw a speedy chest-pass at Iwaizumi, which would have gone hurtling into his stomach, had he not caught it with ease using one hand. Tobio paled. _Uh oh._ That wasn’t supposed to happen. Iwaizumi fixed him with a predatory look.

“Think you can get me that easy?” Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow. “You’d better start running, Kageyama!”

_Oh, shit._

———

And that was how Tobio spent the first fifteen minutes sprinting frantically around the gym trying to avoid all the balls Iwaizumi threw at him. One of them bounced off the wall and brushed by the back of his head, and hardly two seconds later one was pelted at his feet, and he had to jump over it. He stopped suddenly to avoid getting hit with the next one, the ball bouncing off the wall a few inches in front of him, before picking up the pace to avoid the one thrown where he had just been standing. Even in his panic, Tobio was laughing his ass off. His reaction time was fast, and at one point he’d set a ball back at Iwaizumi, who then spiked it right back at him only to narrowly miss Tobio. As more and more volleyballs littered the floor, he had to jump over those of them that were in his path. Iwaizumi was laughing too, especially at the way Tobio had to awkwardly manage his footing and twist his legs behind themselves like some sort of ballet dancer that was performing on drugs.

When the barrage of volleyballs came to an end, Tobio slid to the floor, turning over on his back and panting. He closed his eyes, and after a second he could hear Iwaizumi’s footsteps drawing nearer, though barely over his own heavy breathing. When his eyes opened again, the older man was kneeling beside him.

“Was that —” Tobio panted, “part of the training?”

“No,” Iwaizumi said amusedly. “But it was funny to watch you run around like that. And you started it.”

When Tobio glared at him, he laughed. “Don’t worry,” he winked. “We’ll count that as your cardio.”

Tobio found the strength in him to sit up, but ended up collapsing into the bigger man anyway. He lied against Iwaizumi’s broad chest, feeing his pulse against his back, and Iwaizumi didn’t seem to mind. He shook a bottle of water in front of Tobio, who took it gratefully. He downed about half of it before he felt like he was revived, and twisted the lid back on. Iwaizumi wrapped one arm around his middle and placed his other on the floor to help the two of them stand up. Once they were both of their feet, Iwaizumi let go, and Tobio could stand on his own.

“Feeling okay?” Iwaizumi asked.

“So _now_ you care about my well-being?” Tobio replied, his sarcasm losing its bite due to the grin on his face.

“Maybe, just a little bit,” Iwaizumi elbowed him gently. He picked a ball up off the ground and tossed it for Tobio to catch. “C’mon. Toss me some sets. Take a breather,” He chuckled. “Plus, I’ve always wanted to hit one of your sets.”

“I _am_ in high demand these days,” Tobio said loftily. He tossed it into the air and got under it to set to Iwaizumi. Focusing intently on the angle of his fingers and wrists, he snapped it backward to where Iwaizumi was standing, but high enough to give him time to gain momentum. Tobio watched as he ran at it, leapt into the air, and spiked the ball with incredible force. He didn’t have the shocking height like Hinata, or the impressive spin like Ushijima, but he had incredible power, and accuracy. There was a reason he was Seijou’s ace.

“That was great,” they said to each other simultaneously, then,

“I need to work on the height some more,” Tobio muttered at the same time Iwaizumi said,

“I need to give it some more spin.”

They looked at each other, then laughed.

“Wow, we really are similar,” Iwaizumi remarked. “Toss me another one!”

“If you insist.”

And so they got to work. Iwaizumi had him practice setting to him from different positions in the court, and Tobio adapted to his quick movements. Once they decided his setting was good for the day, they worked on receives, Iwaizumi pulling out a hollow wooden podium to stand on so that he was taller than the net.

“I’ve always wanted to stand one of of these,” he said in wonder to nobody in particular, which made Tobio chuckle. Iwaizumi scowled and pointed at him. “You’re in no position to be laughing at me, Kageyama!”

And so he threw a ball on the opposite side of the court, and Kageyama sprinted and slid, just barely saving it. He tossed several more balls like this, and though it was good practice, Tobio was starting to feel like a marble that a kid was having fun rolling back and forth. He started to become aware of his aching, sore muscles, but he ignored them as he continued receive after receive. However, Iwaizumi seemed to notice his movements slowing, and paused with the ball he was about to throw.

“What’s wrong?” He asked. Tobio shook his head.

“Nothing,” he shrugged it off. “Just sore. Practices have been hell all month.”

“That’s not good,” Iwaizumi straight up hopped off the box like it was nothing, and walked over to where Tobio stood. He patted him on the shoulder. “You did really good today, so we should end here. Walk it off for a few minutes, and I’ll take a look at your sore spots. What hurts?”

Tobio pointed out his calves and his shoulders before freezing, realizing what Iwaizumi was implying.

“Wait — you’re going to look at them?”

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi nodded, raising his palms up to face Tobio and wiggling his fingers. “With my fingers.” At Tobio’s hesitance, he rolled his eyes. “You need it. Trust me. I have sports cream in my bag and I’ll be quick.”

Tobio sighed, knowing to trust the athletic trainer in the situation. “Fine, okay.”

After a few minutes, he joined Iwaizumi at the bench. He couldn’t trust himself to handle Iwaizumi’s hands on his skin. When the other man sat on the floor in front of him, he raised an eyebrow.

“Put your foot on my shoulder,” he instructed. Tobio shot him an odd look, but hide as he asked, placing his left heel on Iwaizumi’s left shoulder. The man on the floor scooped some cream from the container into his fingers, proceeding to apply it firmly. At first, Tobio winced at the pressure, but started to get used to it. The cream was leaving a cool, tingly feeling on his calf muscles.

“You’ve got to take better care of yourself, Tobio,” Iwaizumi kneaded at the tender flesh, and Tobio had to bite back a noise of both pain and contentment. He realized that he’d used his first name again, in a scoldingly affectionate sort of way. “You push yourself too hard.”

Tobio grunted as he hit a particularly tough knot. Through gritted teeth, he replied, “not like I’ve ever heard that one before.”

“Yeah? Well you should hear it more often,” Iwaizumi eased up a bit on the knot, using the heel of his hand instead of his knuckle. “I’m no physical therapist, but with the amount of strain you out your body under without any sort of recuperation you’ll be out of commission by the next Olympics after this one.”

“Those are a lot of big words, but I think I get the gist,” Tobio said. In response, Iwaizumi made a “gimme” motion with his other hand, and Tobio wordlessly switched his legs to rest the other on his shoulder. When the previous leg hit the floor, it felt all tingly and wobbly, and Tobio wondered if he would be able to stand when he tried, or if his impromptu masseuse would have to carry him out of this damn gymnasium. He realized he wouldn’t have minded.

“Fuck!” Tobio swore as Iwaizumi hit another incredibly tight spot, and he gripped his own knee with one hand and doubled over slightly in pain. Again, Iwaizumi eased up on the spot, but he moved the hand on Tobio’s knee to his shoulder. Tobio grew awed and the broad expanse of muscle beneath his palm, and felt his face start to heat up at the thought.

“Just hold and squeeze there,” Iwaizumi said, as if this were just standard protocol. “I can take it. Don’t put yourself in any more pain than you’re already in.”

Holy shit, why was Tobio suddenly at a loss for words?

“Seriously, Kageyama, you’re gonna run yourself ragged,” Iwaizumi murmured.

“You were throwing the entire contents of the volleyball cart at me just an hour ago,” Tobio reminded him.

“And you still evaded them with sore legs,” Iwaizumi replied. “You deserve some sort of medal.” 

“To be fair, I couldn’t really feel them,” Tobio muttered.

Iwaizumi didn’t reply, instead gently lifting Tobio’s leg off of his shoulder and putting it back on the ground.

“They’ll be a bit sore for a while, but they should feel better,” Iwaizumi said, patting his knee comfortingly. He sat on the bench beside Kageyama again, and ushered him to scoot toward the end and turn around. Tobio did as he said, and saw Iwaizumi shift one leg to either side of the bench out of the corner of his eye. He could feel him scoot closer, and his heart raced despite himself, to make matters worse—

“Do you mind taking your shirt off?” He asked. “You don’t have to, but it would make everything easier.”

“This was all just a ruse to get me shirtless, wasn’t it?” Tobio joked as he grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it off in one motion, the way boys do when they want to impress somebody.

“Being gay makes this job so great yet so difficult,” Iwaizumi laughed behind him, and Tobio felt his blush cover every corner of his face. It got worse when he felt Iwaizumi’s rough hands on his shoulders. His head tilted to the side as the other man began to apply pressure in small circles, effectively working out all the kinks and knots in his neck and shoulders. His hands were warm and solid against his back, and he had to fight to keep in his groans and noises of both pain and relief. The tingly feeling was even stronger, and it sent shivers down his spine, but it all felt extremely good. Tobio thought he might just crumble under his touch.

“As much as I’d love to take my time with you, we’ve only got about fifteen minutes left in our time slot,” Iwaizumi mumbled in his ear. “And I promised you I’d be quick. Your shoulders will feel better a bit sooner than your legs, because there wasn’t as much strain there. You do have a lot of tension though, so when you get home you should shower, unwind and take a nap or something.”

“That sounds like exactly what I’ll be doing,” Tobio sighed happily at the thought of his warm bed.

“Good,” Iwaizumi patted him on the back before standing up. “Stay there while I clean up all the volleyballs I threw at you, and leave your shirt off for the cream to dry. Unless you don’t want to, but the sticky feeling is kind of gross, so I’d recommend it.”

Tobio decided to take his word for it and leave his shirt off as he watched Iwaizumi pick up each ball and toss it into the cart. He was definitely not admiring his arms or his surprising accuracy with his tosses, nope, not at all. Iwaizumi jogged back, pushing the cart back into the storage closet and closing it. After deeming his back dry, Tobio put his shirt back on and handed Iwaizumi his water bottle. He took it gratefully and took a large gulp before closing it up again. Tobio handed him his bag, which he slung over his shoulder, and the two of them left the gym together. They left the school grounds in a comfortable silence, turning onto the busy streets once again. For some reason, Tobio felt like an eternity had passed in that gym, yet there was still daylight.

“That was . . . fun,” Tobio broke the silence, unsure exactly how else to put it. It was fun — the most fun he’d had in a while. It was almost like he’d forgotten how much fun volleyball could be.

“It was,” Iwaizumi agreed, and Tobio realized he was blushing. Iwaizumi turned his head to look at Tobio beside him, and slung an arm over his shoulder. “When am I seeing you again?” He asked. “It doesn’t have to be training. We can just . . . get lunch again, if you want.”

“That sounds great,” Tobio nodded. “You’ve still gotta bench press me, though.”

“I’ll make good on that, don’t worry,” Iwaizumi chuckled. “Where were you thinking?”

“Probably like the gym or something—” Tobio raised an eyebrow, thinking the question to be kind of odd. Iwaizumi laughed at his confusion.

“I meant lunch,” he clarified, and Tobio blushed red in embarrassment, even as Iwaizumi continued. “But we’ll work out the details later tonight on the phone, if you want. Does tomorrow sound okay?”

“Tomorrow sounds amazing,” Tobio replied, smiling at the ground. It occurred to him that he didn’t know the first thing about relationships, or romance, but he had a feeling Iwaizumi would walk him through it. “I’ll text you about it later. Thanks for today, Iwa.”

Iwaizumi smiled fondly at him. “You should really start calling me Hajime.”

“Okay, then, Hajime,” Tobio tested it, deciding he liked it a lot. “I’ve gotta be Tobio, then.”

“Works for me, Tobio,” he winked, and Tobio’s heart fluttered.

Once they reached their splitting point, they waved each other goodbye. Tobio felt the strong urge to kiss him, but held off. He wanted to think about these new feelings for a bit longer before he acted on them, and he could tell that Hajime did too. When Tobio had gotten a few blocks away, he checked his phone to see that Hinata had messaged him an hour ago.

**oh no!! i totally forgot to  
reply!!**

**i got caught up last night and  
my phone died and i had to  
plug it in and i just got back  
from the beach so i didn’t  
even really see your message  
until just now!**

**oikawa-san and i played some  
volleyball the night before and  
we won so we got super drunk  
and then i was at the beach again  
all day after so i guess i didn’t  
see it then either!**

**anyway, i’m alive in case you  
were worried!!**

**sorry about that!!**

Tobio shook his head, sighing. Sunshine Boy was going to be the death of him.

**don’t stress about it,  
dumbass.**

**i know you’re busy.**

**if you die, though, don’t  
think i’m flying out to  
brazil for your funeral to  
watch oikawa bury you  
in the sand.   
  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, the Iwaizumi/Kageyama tag comes into play.  
> I don’t see a lot of works for them without Oikawa, which is somewhat surprising to me, but I feel like they’d have a good dynamic. They’re not complimentary to each other, but they work because they’re similar.  
> Anyway this was extremely fluffy so I hope you liked that after the absolute sin i wrote in the last chapter.  
> (don’t worry, though. there’s more sin coming)


	7. touch my neck, and i’ll touch yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you in those little high-waisted shorts, oh
> 
> Both pairs hit the club on a Friday evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’ALL I FEEL SO DUMB LMAO.  
> THERES A LITERAL 12 HOUR TIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRAZIL AND JAPAN, BUT ARE WE GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT? NO❤️.  
> the earth is flat if i say it is ;)  
> Anyway, here I go again, feeding you gremlins.  
> -SLIGHT SMUT WARNING-  
> This time it’s double trouble in the club tonight. I was going to put the real smut in this chapter but I haven’t written it yet and I just wanted to get this part out.  
> There are some songs that I’ll link if you want to listen — you don’t have to, and personally I’d recommend listening to the song before you actually read it because it’s easier to concentrate.

“Hey, sunshine. You ever been dancing?”

Tooru and Shouyou were lying in bed together, their shirts tossed to the floor but their sweatpants miraculously still on. They hadn’t had sex last night like they did the previous, but they did do a considerable amount of making out. Shouyou had spent the last two nights in Tooru’s room, and he could hardly imagine what Shouyou’s poor roommate must be thinking. Since it was Friday, Tooru wanted to do something fun that night, and he’d come to the conclusion that the two of them had yet to hit any clubs together. By the look of confusion on Shouyou’s face (which was absolutely adorable), Tooru could tell the answer to his previous question was no even if he hadn’t said it yet.

“Wanna go tonight?” Tooru raised an eyebrow.

Shouyou lit up, and that was enough answer for him, even when he continued afterward.

“Yes! That would be so much fun!” He exclaimed. Tooru chuckled.

“You have so much energy for six in the morning,” he murmured, kissing Shouyou affectionately on the forehead. “Save it for dancing tonight, sweetheart.”

“I don’t know how to dance, though,” Shouyou pouted, and Tooru couldn’t help himself when he leaned in and kissed the pout right off his lips. Shouyou smiled into the kiss, winding a hand through Tooru’s bed head. The brunette chuckled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you,” he said comfortingly, their lips still brushing together. “I like to think I’m pretty good at it.”

“You’re good at everything,” Shouyou buried his face into Tooru’s neck, his voice leaving a buzz on Tooru’s skin, which was still littered with hickeys. “It’s not fair.”

“Sure, but as demonstrated, you’re a quick learner,” Tooru stroked his back gently, tracing over the scratch marks that were still there. He was itching to make more, but not yet. “You’ll pick it up in no time.”

“What do I even wear?” Tooru smiled at the excitement in Shouyou’s voice. “Do I have to dress up or anything?”

“How about that butterfly shirt?” Tooru suggested. He was really fond of it, especially the way it complimented Shouyou’s hair. “And maybe some black jeans?”

“What if they’re ripped?” Shouyou quirked an eyebrow.

Tooru licked his lips, smiling at the way Shouyou’s eyes tracked his tongue. “Even better.”

Shouyou took Tooru’s chin between his thumb and forefinger and gently tilted his head into another sweet kiss. Tooru truly felt like he was melting.

“What’ll you wear?” He asked. Tooru smiled.

“I’ll surprise you,” he said. Shouyou flicked him gently in the nose.

“You’re lucky I like surprises,” the ginger feigned another pout. “This is the second time I won’t know what your outfit is when you already know mine.”

“I know, I know,” Tooru chuckled. “But you’ll like it.”

“You could come in wearing a trash bag and I’d still like it,” Shouyou ruffled his hair affectionately. “They’d write an article or something about it: Argentinian Setter Lives Up to his Old Nickname of Trashykawa by Bringing Garbage Bags Into Style.”

Tooru laughed, seeing the mental image in his head. “You’ll get it for that one!”

Before Shouyou could react, Tooru’s fingertips were already at his sides, digging into his flesh sporadically as the ginger began to writhe about, laughing as Tooru continued to tickle him. Tooru laughed too, watching Shouyou’s warm eyes widen with joy, his loud laugh spilling out of his lips. He grabbed one of Tooru’s wrists in self-defense, but was severely weakened by the tickling and couldn’t hold on for long. Shouyou then contracted into a little ball of sunshine and laughter, and Tooru wondered how he could have possibly gotten this lucky.

“H-hey!” Shouyou said between laughs. “Cut it out! Y-you have camp s-soon!” 

“So what?” Tooru teased. “I could do this all day.”

“Nooo!” Shouyou wailed, tears of mirth falling from his eyes. After a few more seconds, Tooru finally relented, slowing his attacks as Shouyou panted, trying to catch his breath. Once he did, he looked up at Tooru with a halfway-menacing glare, frowning.

“It’s so hard to be mad at you,” he said moodily, and Tooru laughed.

“That was payback for calling me Trashykawa,” he stuck out his tongue childishly before smirking. “Don't worry, I’ll spoil you later to make up for it.”

His heart soared at the way Shouyou’s cheeks blushed a brilliant pink.

**———**

Several hours later, in Japan, Hajime sat with Tobio as both men enjoyed their lunch. They talked avidly about volleyball for a while before settling into a peaceful silence. That was, however, until his phone buzzed in his pocket. He had a feeling he already knew who it was, and so he ignored it. However, there was another buzz a few seconds after, followed by another, and he was willing to keep ignoring them until Tobio pointed it out.

“You must be popular,” he said amusedly. Hajime gave in, rolling his eyes and taking out his phone. When he saw his messages on his lock screen, he sighed.

“Nope,” he popped the P. “It’s all Oikawa.”

Tobio raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Shouldn’t he be at practice?”

“Yeah, it’s probably his lunch break,” Hajime scrolled up through the messages.

**6:50 am**

**[Attachment: 3 Images]**

**iwa-channnnn**

**i need your help**

**that’s not a first**

**you’re always so  
mean to me smh.**

**anyway, i have plans  
tonight, and my entire  
outfit will be based off  
this decision, so i need  
your expert guidance in  
the matter.**

**i’m an athletic trainer,  
not your damn personal  
stylist.**

**why don’t you just  
ask hinata?**

**i expect he’s going  
with you**

**...**

**maybe**

**but you know what  
looks good on me!**

**c’mon, iwaaaa**

**stop bothering me and  
get to practice, asshole**

**you’ll be late.**

**1:26 pm**

**iwaaaa**

**iwa-channnn**

**iwaizumi**

**hajime**

**big strong manly man  
with muscles**

**childhood and life-long  
best friend**

**i’m going to fucking kill you.**

**fine.**

**is it safe for me to open  
those images in public?**

***gasp***

**hajime iwaizumi??? eating  
lunch in public???**

**and yes, they are safe**

**not like you ever minded  
when they weren’t **

Just to piss him off, he said,

**i’m with kageyama**

**we’re reminiscing about the  
times when we didn’t  
know you**

**excuse me.**

**i doubt that little brat was  
even born yet when you and  
i first met!!**

**but that doesn’t matter.**

**just pick one of the chokers.**

**pretty please.**

“What’re you guys talking about?” Tobio asked, tilting his head to the side. Hajime smiled to himself — he looked really cute when he did that. 

“He’s asking me to pick a choker for him,” Hajime sighed, scrolling up to the images. “I swear he does this shit on purpose to get under my skin.”

“Why would it?”

“He knows how much I like them,” Hajime ran an irritable hand through his hair before turning his phone over to Tobio. “Which one should I tell him?”

Tobio snorted. “Definitely not the furry one, that's for sure.”

Hajime let out a sharp laugh. “Yeah, I kept telling him to get rid of that one. It’s so ugly.”

“Hinata would like the sparkly one,” Tobio said, the implication speaking for itself. This may have been why Hajime suddenly noticed that Oikawa hadn’t sent pictures of the chokers actually on him. Usually, he would jump at the chance to show Hajime something on his body to tease him (which would frustrate him), but the chokers were just lying on the bed in the pictures. This meant one of two things — Oikawa had a really terrible hickey, or Oikawa had several really terrible hickeys.

Hajime typed out his response.

**the sparkly one.**

**kageyama says hinata  
would like it.**

**plus, it would draw attention  
away from the bruises on  
your neck.**

**HAJIME**

**HOW DARE YOU**

**i’ve been nothing but  
angelic ever since i’ve  
gotten here!**

**lucifer was an angel once.**

**also you’re a terrible liar.**

**OI!**

**DON’T COMPARE ME  
TO THE DEVIL!**

**too late.**

Hajime put his phone on silent and then turned it off, putting it back in his pocket. He groaned. “Sorry about that,” he said to Tobio, who just waved it off.

“It’s fine,” he shrugged. “What do you think they’re doing tonight?”

Probably going to a party or something, if Oikawa needed a choker for it. He never had anything against Hinata, but given that they were both similar people, the fact that the two of them would probably be together didn’t sit right in his stomach. He wasn’t truly over Oikawa, as much as he liked to be, but when Hajime saw Tobio again for the first time in years it was like taking a breath of fresh air after an eternity of suffocating. He felt renewed, and calm. Yesterday had been the most fun he’d had in a long time. Tobio filled the emotional void that Oikawa had left, and Hajime had a feeling that maybe they could pull each other out of their mutual traps that somehow still had a hold on them from across the globe.

“The real question is what are _we_ doing tonight?” Hajime quirked an eyebrow, an idea forming in his head.

“Huh, what do you mean?” Tobio’s brow furrowed.

“You and I both need to unwind, doctor’s orders,” Hajime grinned. “I’m taking you out.”

Tobio stared, his eyes widening at Hajime with alarm. “Like, with a gun, or—”

Hajime laughed. “No, dumbass. We’re going dancing.”

Tobio reacted exactly how Hajime expected him to. After pausing to see if he’d misheard him, his face automatically screwed up in disgust. “Dancing? Me? No way in hell.”

“Just think about it. You need to relax, but the only way you can do that is keeping yourself busy. We can’t just keep playing volleyball, or you’re going to strain yourself, and if we play any other sort of physically taxing sport it would be counterproductive. Dancing will keep your head and your body busy. I’ll be with you the whole time, and if anybody tries anything I won’t hesitate to show them just how much work I’ve put into these,” he clapped a palm over his bicep, grinning encouragingly.

Tobio scoffed. “Okay, show-off, so let’s say you can fight off some drunks that want a piece of me,” Tobio’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “I still don’t know how to dance.”

“You’ll figure it out eventually,” Hajime waved it off. He tilted his head to the side, fixing Tobio with his most challenging smirk. “Or are you too scared to try?”

“I am not scared!” Tobio protested, and Hajime grinned, clapping him on the back.

“Then it’s settled!” He stifled his laugh at the glare Tobio sent him. He leaned over slightly to speak softly by his ear. “Don’t worry, I’ll buy drinks.”

He reveled in the shiver that raced down Tobio’s spine.

**———**

“That damn bastard, thinking he can flirt with me and get away with it,” Tobio scowled to himself. “What a damn tease.” 

“We’ll show him, right?”

Suga punched him in the shoulder, a mischievous grin on his face. The two of them were at the mall right now, trying to pick out an outfit that would get Hajime Iwaizumi _flustered_. Tobio had thought of this on the way back home from lunch, but wasn’t sure exactly what he should buy. He was sort of helpless when it came to fashion, or dressing for any occasion other than practice or a quick trip to the grocery store. He surely wasn’t going to ask Oikawa for help, even though he was the most fashionable person he knew (though Tobio would never admit that), so he called the next best thing.

He and Suga’s conversation on the phone had gone a little something like this:

“Suga, I need your help.”

Obviously, these weren’t the best words to lead with, because Suga had automatically gone into frantic mother-hen mode.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Suga asked, panicked. “Where are you right now?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m walking home. I was just at lunch with Hajime,” he replied.

“Hajime?” Suga asked.

“Iwaizumi,” Tobio clarified.

“Ohhhh,” Suga said, then, “ _OOOHHHH_. Oh my God, Kageyama. Are you hooking up?”

“Not at the moment,” he clapped a hand over his mouth as soon as he said it, but it was too late. Suga’s gasp from the other end of the phone told him he knew.

“HOLY SHIT, KAGEYAMA!” Suga yelled into the receiver. “Oikawa and Hinata meet _once_ and your response is to GET WITH HIS EX?” There was a pause, then, “I like the way you think. BUT STILL.”

“I know, I know,” Tobio put a hand to his face. “But turns out we’re going to a club tonight and I need something to wear. My range of clothes are athletic wear and maybe one pair of blue jeans, and then a single suit for formal occasions.”

“That’s extremely problematic,” Suga mused. “I’m on my way!”

“Huh?!” Tobio exclaimed. “Where?”

“Your apartment, dumbass,” Suga said, and Tobio could hear his car starting up on the other end of the phone. “We’re going to the mall.”

“Shit, right now?”

“Yes, now!” Suga replied. “If you don’t hurry your skinny ass up I’ll be there before you!” 

Tobio had sprinted to his apartment, barely getting time to reapply some deodorant, change his shirt (which had gotten incredibly sweaty), and grab his wallet before Suga pulled up in his all-too-familiar silver Subaru. They made eye contact from the apartment window, and Suga smirked up at him and honked.

He’d hurried down the stairs faster than he thought he could run, and was panting again by the time he slid into the passenger’s seat. The inside of the car smelled like pot and pine trees. He wasn’t prepared for the hand Suga clapped onto his back, and Tobio’s face nearly banged into the glovebox.

“Good to see you again, Kageyama!” Suga said cheerfully, pulling out of the parking spot. “I’m honored that you called me, though I can’t say I’m surprised. I am truly the master of teasing clothes. You can ask Daichi.”

Thinking about his old captain and co-captain hooking up made Tobio’s face turn beet red. “Yep. I’m sure,” he replied weakly. Then again, that was exactly why he’d called Suga.

“Iwaizumi, huh?” Suga raised an eyebrow playfully. “You’ve sure got a thing for spikers with muscles, don’t you?” He smirked. “Lots of power in those hands.”

Tobio’s face turned even redder, and he glared back at Suga.

“Focus on the road, damnit.”

His friend only laughed. “Daichi’s known for his receives, but I learned that that only means he moves _fast_.”

“I hate you so much for this,” Tobio said into his hands, his cheeks burning.

Why did he think this was a good idea?

He was reminded when they finally got to the mall, and somehow Tobio’s face didn’t feel nearly as hot looking at the scandalous clothing Suga was stacking over his arm that it had been ten minutes ago in the car when he’d been oversharing about his sex life. 

“You’ll want something black,” Suga said, suddenly speaking like a professional. “Black is sexy. He’ll be into that. And it contrasts with your skin so nicely, you pale son of a bitch. Must be all that milk you drink.”

“I have a feeling that has nothing to do with it,” Tobio grimaced. He eyed the stockings in Suga’s arms warily. “I’m going to look like a girl wearing those.”

“Exactly! Embrace your feminine side,” Suga elbowed him. “They’ll accentuate those lean, graceful legs of yours. And you’ll want at least a little coverage, because we can’t hide that ass of yours.”

He felt his face start to burn again. “Could you quit talking so loud, damnit?”

“I would yell something extremely embarrassing, but I don’t think it’s my time to die yet,” Suga chuckled. “You’re spared for now. How about these?”

He handed Tobio a pair of ripped, black denim shorts.

“Now, before you protest, these are pretty tame,” Suga informed him. “You could always wear jeans, but the point is to tease, isn’t it?”

Only Tobio’s resolve for flustering Hajime could have made him accept the shorts Suga handed him. They were his size, conveniently enough, but despite being high waisted he could tell the cutoff would be pretty high as well.

“What kind of top were you thinking?” They’d migrated over to the sections of shirts.

“Uh, nothing too showy,” he said, looking pointedly at the long-sleeve Suga was holding that legitimately looked like it was just sleeves.

“Note taken,” Suga hung it back up, then reaching for a cropped, black, mesh t-shirt beside it. “How’s this? It’s not super sheer, and you won’t be able to see anything incriminating inside a nightclub.” He held it up to Tobio’s torso with a scrutinizing gaze before grinning. “That’s perfect. You’ve got to at least try it on.”

“You’re the professional here,” Tobio shrugged.

“You can borrow my black platform shoes,” Suga said thoughtfully. “They should fit you, and the straps are adjustable if you need more support. They’re basically just chunky ankle boots, but they’ll look good.” He handed the clothes to Tobio, grinning proudly.

“Any other accessories before we get to the dressing room?”

The memory of Hajime texting Oikawa popped into his mind.

“A choker,” he said, smirking. “He said he was into those.”

Suga clapped excitedly under his chin. “That’s perfect! You would look so good in one. We should get you one with a chain. Spice things up a little bit.”

Tobio felt plenty spiced, but figured a little extra couldn’t hurt. Just looking at some of them made Tobio blush, so he picked one that didn’t quite scream BDSM like the others did, and Suga nodded.

“Good choice,” he said. “We’ll come back and get another after you guys have had a few dates—”

“Shut up!”

Around fifteen minutes later, Tobio had put everything on except for the fishnets, which he wasn’t supposed to take out of the package (for good reason). He trusted that they would fit, though, and instead turned to admiring the outfit. Suga had done a nice job. Black was definitely his color. The shorts were, of course, well, short, but they wouldn’t be too bad with the fishnets. The shirt showed off how toned his torso was, and the silver chain from the black choker hung down to his chest invitingly. Shit, he was making himself blush.

His phone buzzed from the bench he’d placed it on. He grinned at seeing it was Hajime.

**what’re you wearing tonight?**

As tempted as he was to send a picture right now, he decided he actually wanted to see his face when he reacted, so he didn’t. 

**don’t know yet.**

**you?**

**me neither.**

**probably just a button**   
**up and jeans**

Pffff. He wouldn’t know what hit him.

**sounds great**

Suga knocked on the door. “Kageyamaaaa,” he called. “I wanna seeeee.”

“So impatient,” Tobio rolled his eyes, but opened the door nonetheless. When Suga caught sight of him, he gasped, his eyes roving up and down his body approvingly.

“Jesus, Tobio. Excuse me for saying this but you look hot,” Suga grinned. “If I had ovaries, they would burst.” He twisted his finger around Tobio’s chain with a fiendish look. “Iwaizumi is going to faint when he sees you.”

“I’m telling Daichi you said that,” Tobio smirked.

“You should,” Suga said offhandedly. “I’ve been in need of some rough sex lately—”

“Could you quit talking so damn loud?!”

“You’re the one who’s yelling,” Suga said pointedly. “Anyway, get changed again and we’ll check out. Once I drop you back off I’ll go back and grab the shoes.”

**———**

Tooru Oikawa might have been one of the prettiest people Shouyou had ever seen. Maybe even _the_ prettiest.

Shouyou stood in Tooru’s room, paralyzed and just admiring the older of the two. The way his black shorts hugged his hips and rose up his waist, the way his silvery tube top matched his equally sparkly silver choker, and the way the black denim jacket he wore hung around his lean but muscular shoulders. His face looked slightly different, and he noticed that Tooru had given himself some eyeliner wings that made him look almost cat-like.

“Once again, you blow me away,” Shouyou said under his breath. “You’re gorgeous.”

“I did my best,” Tooru blushed, fingering his choker with a smile. Shouyou pointed at it.

“Can I have one?” He asked. Tooru raised an eyebrow, but laughed.

“Sure. I’ll give you the black one, it goes with your outfit,” he pulled something out from a drawer and handed it to Shouyou, grinning encouragingly. Shouyou took it, holding it between to fingers and peering at it curiously. Deciding it wasn’t going to actually choke him, he put it on over his head around his neck. It was stretchy, but when it reached his neck it held to his skin and fit snugly.

“How does it look?” He grinned, looking at himself in the mirror. Shouyou thought he looked sort of badass, and it seemed Tooru thought the same.

“ _Hot_ ,” Tooru replied, leaning down to place a kiss on his neck. Shouyou shuddered at the breath that brushed by his ear. “Really hot.”

Shouyou giggled, twisting his head at different angles to look at the choker a little more before looking back to Tooru with another brilliant idea.

“Can you do my eyeliner?”

Tooru’s face split into an excited grin. “I’d love to. Just a second. . .”

He grabbed something from another drawer and returned to Shouyou with it. He patted the bed, and Shouyou took the cue and sat in the spot where he’d indicated. Tooru unscrewed the lid on the thin cylinder and instructed Shouyou to close his eyes. Once he had, he relished in the feeling of Tooru’s warmth so close to his face, and smiled. Shouyou held impressively still, given that he was impatient to see how it would turn out. He felt Tooru wave his hands in front of his face to dry the newly created wings.

“You can open your eyes now,” he said, and Shouyou did, staring up at Tooru curiously. He smiled as a slow blush began to creep across his cheeks.

“God, you’re beautiful sunshine,” Tooru kissed him softly on the lips. “It’s a crime nobody’s put eyeliner on you before.”

Shouyou laughed, looking at himself in the mirror. “Natsu tried a few times,” Shouyou informed him. “But it’s never looked this good. Don’t tell her I said that, though.”

Tooru chuckled. “I won’t. I’d like to meet her though. Is she your little sister?”

“Yeah,” Shouyou grinned. “She’s not so little anymore, though. I miss her.”

“Hopefully one day I’ll get to meet mini-sunshine,” Tooru ruffled his hair affectionately, and Shouyou’s whole body spread with warmth. The fact that Tooru wanted to meet his family provided him with endless amounts of joy.

“She’d like you,” Shouyou told him. “She’d ask to do your makeup instead because you’re prettier than me.”

Tooru snorted. “I doubt that.”

“Why?”

“It’s not true,” Tooru kissed the top of his hair before he could protest. “But we both look pretty stunning tonight, in my opinion. We should take a picture.”

“Great idea!” Shouyou grabbed his phone from off the table and moved to stand beside Tooru in the mirror again. He held up a peace sign with one hand, holding the phone in the other, while Tooru wrapped a warm arm around his shoulders. The two of them smiled at themselves in the camera, and Shouyou took the picture without the flash. They both looked to examine it, and Tooru grinned mischievously.

“We should send it to Tobio-chan,” he suggested.

Shouyou gasped. “Cruel,” he said, then, “let’s do it!”

And so he sent the picture to Bakageyama, typing a message underneath it.

**i’m going clubbing for the**   
**first time tonight! wish  
me luck!!**

There were a few minutes while the two of them waited impatiently for a reply. Finally, the dots on Kageyama’s end started to move.

**what a coincidence.**

**[Attachment: 1 Image]**

Shouyou almost threw his phone.

**———**

Hajime had just arrived at Tobio’s apartment. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous about this. It was a good idea. The two of them could relax, have some fun together, and Tobio wouldn’t be worried about Hinata or volleyball or anything. They could enjoy each other’s company without having to worry about anything else. He’d texted Tobio he’d pulled up a few minutes ago, so when he arrived at his door he knocked and waited patiently outside.

There were only a few moments of awkwardly standing before the door was answered, and when he caught sight of his date, his knees nearly collapsed beneath him.

The mesh shirt he wore exposed his toned stomach, his lean, muscular arms crossed against his chest. The waistband of some black fishnets rose over his stomach, a small pair of ripped, black denim shorts riding his waist and cutting off right above his thighs. The fishnets made it impossible not to stare at Tobio’s long, gorgeous legs, that is, until he caught sight of the choker. _Shit, the choker._ There was a long silver chain hanging invitingly from the black band, as if taunting Hajime to come grab it himself. Tobio looked elegant and edgy and beautiful and Hajime was into it. _God, he wanted to kiss him._

“Holy shit,” Hajime couldn’t seem to find his breath. He didn’t know where to even look, his eyes were flying everywhere. That is, until they locked on Tobio’s finger, which was seductively twirling itself on the chain hanging from his neck. He swallowed thickly. _Damn it, Hajime, show some self-restraint._

“Flustered, Hajime?” He could hear the smirk in Tobio’s voice, and gulped.

Hajime didn’t know if he’d be able to even make it to the club.

“Extremely,” he breathed. “Holy shit.” He said again. Then, his brain absolutely leaving his body, “can I kiss you?”

Much to his surprise, Tobio scoffed.

“I didn’t get all dressed up to tease you just so you can get what you want immediately,” he crossed his arms over his chest haughtily. “I do want to kiss you, but you’ll have to earn it.”

“And how do I do that?” Hajime asked, hoping his voice didn’t betray his desire.

Tobio winked, smiling smugly. “Show me a good time.”

And that sent chills throughout Hajime’s entire body.

“You got all dressed up for me?” Hajime put a gentle hand on Tobio’s waist, and he shivered in response, but didn’t move it or protest. Hajime smiled at the feeling of Tobio’s soft, milky skin beneath his calloused fingers. “I’m flattered.”

“It’s payback for being such a damn flirt,” Tobio rolled his eyes, and _shit that was hot_. “Now it’s my turn to watch you suffer.” He grinned. “You’re blushing like an idiot, by the way.”

Hajime was well aware, but looked into the mirror by the doorway anyway to see his face was a brilliant cherry red.

“I can’t help it,” he said, smirking. “You’re perfect. I really can’t take my eyes off of you.”

Tobio chuckled. “You think I’m perfect?”

“As close as a person could get,” Hajime replied sincerely. Now it was Tobio’s turn to blush, his cheeks turning pink. He’d brushed a hair from Tobio’s face, and the two were standing incredibly close now. His hand was still on Tobio’s waist, the other winding itself in his hair. They grew closer, and closer, their lips almost brushing when—

The sound of Tobio’s phone buzzing made both of them jump, shattering their chances of kissing before Hajime made good on his promise.

“Damn,” Tobio cursed under his breath. “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

“I don’t even know who texted you, but next time I see them they’d better be prepared to get their ass whooped,” Hajime grimaced in defeat. Tobio laughed, showing Hajime the screen. 

“It’s Hinata,” he said, his smile turning from amusement to a bitter sort of grimace within seconds as he stared at the message. “Looks like they had the same plans.”

He showed Hajime the picture Hinata had just sent of him and Oikawa. He couldn’t help but feel at least a little bit jealous at the way Oikawa’s arm was slung so casually around somebody else, but he pushed it away. He had Tobio here, and two could play at that game.

“Let’s send one back,” Hajime suggested.

Tobio’s grimace turned into a terrifying smirk, and he loved it. “I like the way you think,” Tobio told him.

And so they positioned themselves in front of the mirror. After Tobio had typed something out, he held his phone on one side of his face so that it could be seen. With his other hand, he twirled it around the chain. Hajime moved beside him, laying one arm around Tobio’s waist and placing his other hand in his own hair to subtly accentuate the muscles of his arms. Tobio snapped the picture, and after they both deemed it worthy, he sent it. Hajime’s eyes widened as he continued to type. 

**tell him hajime says hello :))**

A minute or so later, there was a response. 

**so does tooru :))**

“This is some psychological warfare shit,” Hajime stared in disbelief at the phone. 

Tobio snorted. “Yeah, but it’s more fun when we’re both doing it.” He smiled at Hajime, who was desperately trying not to stare too hard at his beautifully pink lips.

“What should I say back?” Tobio asked.

“Tell them to have some fun,” Hajime said. “But that we’ll be having more.”

Tobio laughed as he did so, sending the message afterward and proceeding to pocket his phone. Before they left, Hajime placed his jacket around Tobio’s shoulders. It was long enough to cover most of his upper thighs, and Tobio raised an eyebrow at him.

“What’s this for?” He asked.

“I don’t want any weirdos staring at you,” he said quietly. “I’m sure you could have figured this out already, but I’m a little bit _possessive_.”

He made sure to add a bit of a growl to the word, and watched as Tobio’s face heated up, goosebumps standing up on his arms. He shivered, and put the jacket all the way on.

“Damn flirt,” he muttered.

**———**

“I can’t believe it,” Shouyou was still in shock, even after they were outside the hotel room and on their way to the club. “Kageyama didn’t even tell me they were seeing each other! Do you think they’re dating? Oh my God, what if they have _sex!?_ ”

“You act like we’re not doing the exact same thing,” Tooru rolled his eyes, but his amusement at Shouyou’s shock far outweighed his sudden urge to book a flight purely to punch Kageyama in the ribs. He didn’t have a right to be jealous, and he wasn’t going to let them ruin his mood. That would have been exactly what they wanted. So instead, the two of them brushed past it, instead making light of the situation by speculating how many days it will take them to hook up.

Shouyou snickered. “I bet Kageyama’s a bottom.”

“I’m right here, you know!” Tooru shoved him jokingly, grinning. “And you’ve seen the man. Who wouldn’t bottom for Hajime Iwaizumi, 23, athletic trainer?”

“I bet I could take him,” Shouyou said haughtily, and Tooru downright snorted with laughter.

“You’d be in pieces by the end of it,” he said.

“ _You’ll_ be in pieces by the end of tonight if you don’t take that back,” Shouyou said dangerously, a smirk growing on his face.

Tooru chuckled. “Maybe that’s exactly what I want.”

He relished in the way Shouyou went bright pink and stammered for a response. Luckily, he was spared as they arrived at the nightclub. They didn’t seem to believe Shouyou was 19 at first, but they let them in anyway.

“Do I really look that young?” Shouyou asked as they proceeded toward the muffled thumping of music.

“You look old enough that it doesn’t feel illegal for me to touch you,” Tooru replied. “So who cares?”

“Yeah, that would be a little weird if I didn’t,” Shouyou chuckled. “But whatever. We’re here now and you still have to teach me how to dance.”

“So demanding,” Tooru joked, rolling his eyes. “You’ll get it soon enough. I don’t know how they dance in Brazil, but it can’t be all that different from Argentina. Let’s get some drinks first, yeah?”

“Sounds good to me,” Shouyou nodded, and they opened the door into the nightclub.

The floors were a scuffed, homely sort of wood, but the walls and the ceiling were black. The lights weren’t flashing obnoxiously, but switched patterns with the beat of the songs that were playing. Because Tooru couldn’t understand what the lyrics were even though it sounded pretty similar to Spanish, he figured it was probably in Portuguese. As the two of them made their way through people to the bar, he noted that their movements here were a lot quicker, and their steps closer and more frantic. Frantic wasn’t the word for it. Maybe _wild_.

Shouyou would like it.

When he turned to the ginger, he noticed that his sunshine was already watching the people dancing in awe, his eyes showing his eagerness to try. After ordering their drinks, they had a seat together at the bar and just watched for a while. God, Tooru couldn’t wait to see Shouyou’s hips move like that, and he was more than excited to try himself. Shouyou’s legs hung off the tall stool, feet just barely skimming the ground, and he started mimicking the motions of the people dancing beneath his chair.

 _One_ two three _one_ two three _one_ two three.

“You two ever samba before?”

The bartender was watching them closely. He was a young man — couldn’t be that much older than Tooru — but he was around Shouyou’s height and had dark hair. His smile was friendly, and so he wasn’t mocking them, just asking a legitimate question.

“No, we’re new at this,” Shouyou replied in Portuguese. Tooru didn't know much Portuguese at all, so all he could do was watch as Shouyou conversed with their bartender. The longer the conversation went on, the more the bartender seemed to light up, and Tooru admired the way Shouyou could so easily attract people like that. Everybody wanted to bask in the sun, and Tooru couldn’t blame them.

When their drinks hit the bottom, the bartender filled them again, much to Tooru’s surprise, because he hadn’t paid for another, but he patted them both on the back and sent them off to the dance floor. Shouyou thanked him profusely, and Tooru repeated his words with a grateful smile.

“How’d you do that?” Tooru asked as they walked toward the dance floor.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, I think he’s just nice,” Shouyou shrugged, grinning. “I told him all about how you play for Argentina, and that you’re more familiar with the dance over there. He explained that even though it looks complicated it’s all in the hips and your weight transfer. You’ve got to be light on your feet, he said, but with intention.”

Tooru laughed. “We play volleyball, of course we’d be good at that.” He started to move his feet a little. “I was watching the pattern, and I think it’s something like this.”

 _Back_ two three _back_ two three _back_ two three.

“Yeah,” Shouyou said, “that looks about right.”

Tooru could tell by his voice that he was blushing at the way Tooru moved his hips, even if he couldn’t see it. Shouyou disguised this by sipping his drink, then setting it down to the empty table beside them. Tooru set his down beside it.

“Like this,” Shouyou said, repeating his actions, but adding the sway of his arms. Tooru suddenly grew breathless watching his hips move side to side, and it only became more mesmerizing as it got faster. Tooru felt like he was hypnotized, paralyzed even. All he could do was watch. That is, until he felt Shouyou’s hand on his chest.

“C’mon, Tooru,” he grinned smugly. “Are you gonna dance with me or not?”

And Tooru regained himself, grinning back. In response, he moved his steps in time with Shouyou’s but instead of swaying his arms he ran his hands up the sides of his body. Shouyou’s lips parted in surprise, his eyes glazing over slightly, and Tooru smirked. He grabbed the hand on his chest with his right hand, and turned himself to stand beside Shouyou. He placed Shouyou’s hand on his shoulder, placing his own arm around Shouyou’s waist. He turned his head, so his lips and Shouyou’s ear were almost flush together.

“Let me show you how we do things in Argentina,” he whispered huskily, and before Shouyou could react, Tooru took a step forward. Shouyou took a step back in response, moving the hand Tooru had placed on his shoulder to the area of his back between his shoulder blades. Tooru took more steps forward, and Shouyou took more steps back. The never took their eyes off each other. They found a rhythm with the music, taking turns changing direction. Tooru spun Shouyou in a circle, pulling him even closer, and nearly melted when Shouyou let out a little giggle.

He pulled himself closer to press a kiss to Tooru’s neck, moving Tooru’s hands down to his waist, and once again, Tooru was mesmerized as Shouyou rolled his hips in time with the beat, as if he’d been doing this for years. However, Tooru realized he was doing the same, his body acting of its own accord. Shouyou’s hands tangled themselves in his own hair before one moved to Tooru’s shoulder.

A slow smirk spread onto his face as he purposefully ground his hips into Tooru.

“I can’t believe you,” Tooru shook his head to hide the blush on his face. “We just got here and you’re already teasing me like this.” He scoffed. “Well, two can play at that game.”

He swiveled his foot behind himself, sensually rolling his hip like he’d seen a few others do. He watched as Shouyou drank the sight of him in, watched as Shouyou’s eyes tracked the movements of his legs and hips, watch as he flicked his tongue across his teeth, his eyes getting that hungry look in them that Tooru loved so much. 

He wasn’t about to be outdone. [[x]](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5KxII6AJYZY&list=RDfJvw_4vuMoM&index=12)

The beat of the music thrummed through their veins, the rhythm pulling them closer together. A woman’s voice sang in English, so Tooru could understand the words at least somewhat better. He thought he recognized it, but he hadn’t heard it in a while, so he didn’t quite know it yet. He tuned in as much as he could to the lyrics, as he was far more distracted by the incredibly hot ball of fire and passion before him.

_Nobody knows what I’m feeling inside,_

 _I find it so stupid so why should I hide?_

Shouyou advanced forward, walking on the beat, placing his hand on Tooru’s shoulder again. Tooru spun him around by the wrist, and Shouyou went with it, rolling his hips while taking each of Tooru’s hands in his own and dragging them down his sides.

_That I,_

_Love to make love to you baby._

Shouyou spun back around, assuming a similar position to the one they’d been in before, their bodies flush together with their hands together, however, Shouyou was the one who lead. He took purposeful steps forward, and Tooru was forced to move back with it. He noticed Shouyou was mouthing the words, so he must know the song too. His gaze was fierce and deliberate, as if he was purposefully singing to Tooru, and _wow was that hot._ His hands roamed from Tooru’s chest to over his shoulders, sliding down his arms as he continued to lipsync to the words. Their hips rolled in time with one another, their feet never stopping the heated rhythm below them, as if they stepped on charcoals. 

_So many ways wanna touch you tonight,  
I’m a big girl got no secrets this time. _  
_Yeah I,_ (Shouyou _winked_ ) _love to make love to you baby._

And Tooru remembered the words. Searching for an opportunity, he located a nearby pillar, letting go of Shouyou and pressing his own back against the cool stone, his jacket feeling suddenly constricting. He shrugged it off his shoulders, dropping it behind him as he melted downward with his arms above his head. His eyes met Shouyou’s with passion and desire, his lips forming the words before they even came to mind.

_If this could be a perfect world,_  
 _we’d be together, then,_

He pushed off the pillar with a flare, swooping low to pick up his jacket. He walked purposefully back to Shouyou, his cheeks flushed with heat and heart hammering with adrenaline. Holding a sleeve in each hand, he threw it over the ginger’s head and pulled him close by the arch of his back. Shouyou rested his hands on Tooru’s hips, looking at him with the same amount of lust Tooru felt.

_Only got just one life, this I've learned,_  
 _Who cares what they’re gonna say?_

When Tooru dropped the jacket intentfully, Shouyou placed his hand on his chest, pushing him backward so they stepped to the beat. The crowd seemed to clear before them — apparently, people had been watching, and that spurred Tooru on even more. They clapped their hands to the beat as the movements between Tooru and Shouyou grew more intense and dynamic. Even the music cheered them on, _(let’s do it, do it, do it!)._

_I wanna dance_

Suddenly, Tooru had Shouyou’s right hand in his left, and they mirrored each other with their opposite arms at a diagonal, pulling on each other’s weight just the right amount so neither would fall. Their dance was a wild mix of samba and tango, neither of them quite sure what they were doing but looking damn good doing it. Shouyou spun him back in, catching him around the small of his back.

_In love_

Almost as if un slow motion, Tooru dipped into a low arch, Shouyou supporting his back with a surprising amount of strength. He grinned up at Shouyou, who was already grinning back at him, and he rose to his feet once again.

_And dance,   
Again. _

They spun around, twisting and winding to the music, their bodies pressed together as one. It was hard to tell who was leading, or if anyone was at all. All Tooru could see was Shouyou, all he could hear was the music, and all he could feel was Shouyou’s body against his. This dance wasn’t any of the typical grinding one would find at a club. Instead it was intense, dynamic, quick-paced and just so alive. Tooru didn’t think he could ever go dancing again if it wasn’t like this.

_I wanna dance_  
 _In love_  
 _And dance_  
 _Again._

Shouyou’s eyes were trained on him and only him, so Tooru made sure to keep his attention as he mouthed the next verse. He licked his lips every so often, trailed his hands up his own body, rolled his hips so quickly that it was starting to feel like he would never move them normally again.

_Baby your fire is lighting me up_  
 _The way that you move boy is reason enough_  
 _That I love to make love to you baby_

He punctuated the words in the last line by bringing Shouyou close, walking his fingers down Shouyou’s front with each word, then drawing it back up and tilting his chin to look up at him.

_I can't behave_  
 _Oh I want you so much_  
 _Your lips taste like heaven_  
 _So why should I stop?_  
 _Yeah, I love to make love to you baby_

Tooru could have gotten lost in Shouyou’s eyes, which were slightly glazed over in the passion and the heat of the moment. Both of them were already panting, sweating, but they wanted more. They pushed the best out of each other, and in moments like this, Tooru wondered how he could have possibly been with anybody else. With just a look and a tap to Shouyou’s thighs, the ginger’s legs were around his waist.

_If this could be a perfect world,_  
 _we’d be together then_

Shouyou held onto Tooru with one arm and his legs, throwing his head back and arching into Tooru. The crowd cheered, but the sound was faded in the background, because Tooru only heard the music and the pounding of his own heartbeat. Shouyou’s neck glistened with sweat beneath the lights, the top of his lip shining too. _Beautiful_.

_Only got just one life, this I’ve learned,_  
 _Who cares what they’re gonna say?_

Shouyou’s feet found the floor again, and their hands were intertwined with one another while Shouyou’s other hand was in Tooru’s hair and Tooru’s was on Shouyou’s shoulder. Tooru had to fight the urge to kiss him right now — they weren’t done yet.   


_I wanna dance,  
In love. _  


Tooru dipped Shouyou again, but this time he leaned down with him to the point where they could have almost been parallel to the floor. It was their incredible abdominal muscles that kept them from falling, and the renewed faith that they had in themselves and each other.   


_And dance,  
Again. _  


They stepped in toward each other, lifting their arms, then back out, dropping them. Tooru didn’t think his feet would ever stop moving. 

_I wanna dance,   
_ _In love._

Hooking Shouyou around the arm and leaning over, Shouyou seemed to read his mind and rolled over him on his back. That sheer heat-of-the-moment stunt demonstrated how deep their connection ran. The crowd cheered even louder. They felt the song coming to a close, and regardless of their exhaustion and sweat, they didn’t want it to end.

_And dance,   
_ _Again._

For their dramatic finish, Tooru threw his leg over Shouyou’s shoulder in a spontaneous demonstration of flexibility, throwing his head back like Shouyou had done earlier. The crowd screamed even louder, and when he came up, Shouyou’s eyes were full of awe and lust. There was cheering and clapping all around them — the whole club had been watching, mesmerized — and the two panted in the middle.

“First time dancing, huh?” The bartender asked them weakly when they returned to their stools for more drinks, exhausted. The crowd had gravitated toward them, and it seemed as if the whole bar wanted a word with them. Most switched their focus to Shouyou, because he was the one who could speak Portuguese, and yet again Tooru was astounded by the way he could keep an audience. He must have said something funny, because the crowd burst into laughter.

People bought drinks for them left and right, and as much as Tooru was enjoying himself, his vision was starting to swim, and all he wanted to see was Shouyou. The ginger had already unbuttoned his shirt from the heat, and Tooru couldn’t pull his eyes away. So as the last few people turned to return to their business, Tooru slung an arm over his shoulder and slid his hand down the front of Shouyou’s chest.

“Can we go home now?” He whispered in Shouyou’s ear, nipping at it slightly. “I promised I’d spoil you, sunshine, and I’ve still got to make good at that.” 

**———**

  
“Can we go back, now? It’s so loud in here.”

“Trust me, it gets better after a few drinks.”

Tobio didn’t seem convinced, and Hajime made haste of leading him toward the bar. Tobio looked bored, but he was already attracting a lot of attention. Hajime was ready to punch anybody who tried anything, and it was probably his intimidating stature that dissuaded anyone from doing so. As they sat together at the bar, Tobio watched the people dancing carefully, his gaze calculating.

“See, doesn’t look so bad, does it?” Hajime raised an eyebrow. Tobio shrugged indifferently, taking a sip of his drink and licking his lip to remove the excess. Hajime wondered if he was doing that on purpose.

“I’ll decide when we try,” Tobio said. “I just have to roll my hips around and try to seduce you, right?”

Hajime blushed. “So straightforward, but yeah, basically.”

Tobio snorted. “Easy enough.”

They each finished a few drinks before they decided to give it a try. The lights flashed to the beat of whatever song was playing, but they paid no mind to it as they started to dance. Hajime couldn’t stop staring at Tobio’s legs. It was like the fishnets had magnetic properties but specifically to his eyes. They looked so lean and soft and the more Hajime looked at them the more he wanted to spread them with his hands and mark them with his lips. Tobio experimentally swiveled his hips to the music, drawing his hands up his thighs, and Hajime was mesmerized.

“By your expression, I can tell I must have done that right,” Tobio smirked. He did it again, pushing his hands downward this time, and Hajime was rendered equally speechless as the first time. It was around then that Hajime realized he should probably be doing something. He made sure he had Tobio’s attention as he bit his lip, placing a hand in his hair and the other on Tobio’s shoulder. He took a step and rolled his hips forward, sliding his hand down Tobio’s spine as he did so. [[x]](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-oqYrDfJYN8)

The intro to a song was building up in the background, and Tobio grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him closer as the music stopped momentarily. The lights of the club turned blue, only emphasizing the oceans in Tobio’s eyes that Hajime felt himself start to drown in. As the words began, he started to roll his hips again, never breaking eye contact.

_Oh, God, I'm clean out of air in my lungs  
It's all gone, played it so nonchalant  
It's time we danced with the truth_

Tobio had started to circle Hajime, his hand dragging along his body, mapping out the muscles of his shoulders and his chest. Hajime knew he could feel his rapidly increasing heartbeat, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

_Move along with the truth  
We're sleepin' through all the days  
I'm actin' like I don't see  
Every ribbon you used to tie yourself to me._

Tobio suddenly took both of Hajime’s wrists in his hands placing them on his hips as he started to sway again, and Hajime moved with him as if in a trance. His mind was long gone, and it was like he had tunnel-vision. All he could see was Tobio, looking up at him through those long, feminine eyelashes.

 _But my hips have missed your hips  
So let's get to know the kicks  
Will you sway with me?_  
Yes.   
_Go astray with me?_

Tobio suddenly flipped himself around, giving Hajime a full view of the back of his legs and how tightly his shorts were hugging his ass. _God, when and how did he get so good at that?_ As if he knew, he dragged one hand up his own leg and fisted the other in his hair. Hajime’s hands were still on his hips, and he found that the gap between them was too far, and pulled Tobio closer so he could feel his body against his own.

_King and Queen of the weekend  
Ain't a pill that could touch our rush_

Tobio reached the hand in his own hair behind himself, and it gripped Hajime’s intensely. Tobio leaned his head back into Hajime’s shoulder, arching his back slightly to nibble his ear, and Hajime shuddered at the feeling of pleasure.

_But what will we do when we're sober?_

And just as quickly as it has happened, Tobio pushed himself off of him, returning to teasing him from farther away. Drawing his hands up his sides, running them across his chest, dancing, teasing, taunting.

_When you dream with a fever  
Bet you wish you could touch our rush  
But what will we do when we're sober?_

Tobio pulled him close again, hooking his leg around Hajime and arching his back, and Hajime had to fight every cell in his body not to just lean forward and make a mess of Tobio’s pristine neck. The chain of his choker glinted in the lights, and Hajime felt heat start to pool in his stomach. He rolled his hips into Tobio, and Tobio rolled his own back, a smirk on his lips.

_These are the games of the weekend  
We pretend that we just don't care  
But we care_

Hajime felt Tobio’s leg remove itself from his torso, and Tobio slid his hands down over Hajime’s shirt, and when they reached the bottom, they slid beneath. Hajime gasped at the feeling of Tobio’s hands on his skin. He slid his own hands up the back of Tobio’s shirt to find purchase on his shoulderblades, his muscles taut and strong.

_Ah, when you dream with a fever  
Bet you wish you could touch our rush  
But what will we do when we're sober?  
Oh, God, I'm closin' my teeth around this liquor-wet lime  
Midnight, lose my mind, I know you're feelin' it too_

Tobio dragged a finger down Hajime’s jaw, tracing it down his neck and then further to the topmost button on his shirt. He undid it with a simple flick, and Hajime’s heart started to hammer. He wanted Tobio so bad. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take.

_Can we keep up with the ruse?_

Hajime ghosted his finger along Tobio’s cheek, down to his lips. He sucked in a breath when Tobio took the tip of his finger in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the tip of it. He never broke eye contact; staring at Hajime daringly with his bold, blue eyes. Hajime’s throat went dry.

_Bodies all through my house  
I know this story by heart_

Tired of waiting, he grabbed the chain hanging so invitingly from Tobio’s neck, yanking it behind him so Tobio was pressed against him and staring up into his face. Hajime ghosted his fingers down Tobio’s chest and stomach, resting right before the waistband of his shorts. Tobio’s lips were mouthing the words.

_Jack and Jill get fucked up and possessive when it gets dark._

For a while they just stood there, eyes longing, wishing, wanting. Tobio’s pupils were so blown out the blue was hardly there, and Hajime knew that his were the same. Their hearts beat in synchronization.

_But my hips have missed your hips  
So let's get to know the kicks  
Will you sway with me? Go astray with me?_

The hand not on the chain slid from Tobio’s left hip down to rest over the back pocket of his shorts.

_King and Queen of the weekend_

“Do you want this?” Hajime asked.

_Ain't a pill that could touch our rush_

“God, yes.” Tobio’s voice was a whisper.

_But what will we do when we're sober?_

_When you dream with a fever,_

_Bet you wish you could touch our rush._

“You’re gorgeous, you know,” Hajime breathed.

_But what will we do when we’re sober?_

_These are the games of the weekend,_

“Do it,” Tobio whispered.

_We pretend that we just don’t care._

“Kiss me.”

_But we care._

_What will we do when we’re sober?_

_When you dream with a fever_

“Shit, Tobio,” Hajime replied.

_Bet you wish you could touch our rush._

He moved his hand to cup Tobio’s cheek, letting the chain fall.

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that all night.”

_But what will we do when we’re sober?_

And Tobio’s lips were on his _(midnight, we're fadin')_. The setter’s back was against the wall _('til daylight, we're jaded)_ , Hajime’s hand roaming over his ass and up his sides. Both of them tasted like liquor and sweat _(we know that it's over)_ , but neither seemed to care _(in the mornin', you'll be dancin' with all the heartache)_. One of Tobio’s arms moved to Hajime’s hair _(and the treason)_ , pulling him closer, while the other mapped out the muscles of his back. Hajime’s tongue licked against Tobio’s lips _(the fantasies of leavin')_ ,and he opened them for him. Their tongues moved with each other in their mouths, while their hips seemed to grind against each other of their own accord _(but we know that, when it's over)_. Hajime could feel his erection becoming tight in his jeans, and suddenly, he just wanted to get out of here _(in the mornin’)_. He couldn’t separate his lips from Tobio’s though, because they just felt so good.

_you'll be dancin' with us_

They broke apart, breathing heavily, because they knew that the longer they stood there, their harder it would be for them to leave and do what they really wanted to.

“I love these clothes you put on for me,” Hajime told him huskily. “But I’ve gotta get you out of them.”

“I agree,” Tobio kissed the side of his jaw. “Let’s go home, yeah?” He ran his fingertips down Hajime’s arm, sending goosebumps throughout his entire body.

_Can you feel it, can you feel it?_

_Dancing with us._

_Us._

And before they knew it, they were in the cab on the way home. Not once did either of them break apart for breath, and if they weren’t so drunk, they might have felt bad for the driver.

_When you get to my high  
Midnight, lose my mind  
When you get to my  
Midnight, lose my mind_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me so long to write this so I’m sorry for not updating as frequently as I do normally. Also thanks for all of you kudos and your support in the comments!!  
> I love you guys you all are too sweet 🥺 and if you’re here from that one comment I had on tik tok, baby I’m not even here😳.  
> Also, Suga oversharing about his sex life is one of the funniest things to me, because I know he’d bring it up with Daichi around and Daichi would get so embarrassed.  
> Also this is irrelevant but would anybody be interested in an enemies to lovers type oikawa x reader? I’ve been writing it for my own indulgence but I kind of like it. I won’t give up on this fic of course but it’s just an idea if anybody wants it!!


	8. the night we had

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suddenly, everything becomes real again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is the smut as promised, which took me FOREVER TO WRITE for some reason, along with some ANGST because i didn’t put that tag up there lightly. you’re in for a wild ride.

  
Hajime was incredibly strong.

Tobio was able to deduce this because he was currently carrying Tobio, their lips pressed together in a messy kiss while Tobio’s legs were wrapped around his waist. The night was going according to plan — the only thing wrong was that he was still fully clothed, and not pressed beneath Hajime’s body, feeling out the coarse muscles of his back. However, Tobio was able to come to a few realizations in the time between. Firstly, he didn’t realize he liked his hair being pulled until Hajime did it, yanking his head back to kiss and bite all along the exposed parts of his neck. He moaned lowly, fisting his hands in Hajime’s hair. They were in his apartment now, and Tobio could faintly smell smoke and vanilla. Gradually, Hajime lowered Tobio to his feet so he could use his free hand to lock the door behind him.

“Gotta get it replaced,” he said gruffly. “It’ll swing open if the wind blows it too hard. You wouldn’t want anybody to see me fucking you senseless, would you?”

“You talk dirty when you’re drunk,” Tobio grinned ferally, capturing Hajime’s lips once again. “I like it,” he said between kisses. He bit Hajime’s lip, his entire body thrumming when Hajime let out a low groan. _Ah, so he liked that, didn’t he?_

“I’m not drunk, just buzzed enough that he filter between my thoughts and my lips disappear,” Hajime smirked. “Along with a good portion of my self-restraint. I hope you don’t have practice tomorrow, Tobio. I’m not sure how you’re gonna explain your sudden inability to walk to Ushijima.”

“I’ll tell him my trainer worked me a little too hard,” Tobio leaned in to murmur in his ear, “I’ll tell him I thought I could take it.”

Hajime raised an eyebrow.

“Can you?”

Tobio kissed his jaw. “We’ll have to see.”

He reveled in the way Hajime shuddered at his words, and his fingers began to unbutton Hajime’s shirt almost of their own accord, all while he left kisses down Hajime’s neck, and when the buttons were all loose, he practically ripped the shirt off of him and began to attack his collarbone. He took a bit of skin at the crook of Hajime’s neck between his teeth and bit especially hard, Hajime’s grip tightening painfully in his hair as he _growled_. He could taste a little bit of blood on his teeth, and licked his lips, surprised. He backed away to see that he’d broken the skin slightly and the area around it was growing red with irritation. 

“Well,” Tobio stared at it for a moment before leaning back in to lick away the excess blood. Hajime gasped and shuddered when his tongue met his already sensitive skin. Tobio chuckled. “Looks like we’re both masochists.”

“You wouldn’t be wrong,” Hajime chuckled darkly, drawing his finger down Tobio’s chest to his bare stomach. “But there’s not much more of your neck I can vandalize. I want to mark up the rest of you,” he pressed his whole palm to Tobio’s stomach, pushing it to glide around to his waist. “You’re so flawless, it’s almost obnoxious, so sue me for wanting to ruin it.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Tobio pulled his shirt off, tossing it on top of Hajime’s by the door.

Hajime licked his lips, staring up and down his torso, a burning hunger in his eyes. Suddenly, Tobio was pressed against the wall, his bare back hitting the cold wood. Hajime made good on his word and began to leave marks all over Tobio’s torso, meanwhile, he brushed his finger over one of Tobio’s nipples, which were extremely sensitive. A chill raced up Tobio’s spine and a whine escaped his lips. His erection had done anything but subside, begging to be removed from the tight shorts and fishnets he wore. Hajime seemed to notice this, because after he’d left a few hickeys on Tobio’s v-line, he planted a quick kiss on his clothed bulge. He was on his knees at this point, and was looking to Tobio with a raised eyebrow, asking for permission. Tobio nodded, his knees already shaking.

Hajime unzipped his shorts, pulling them and the fishnets down simultaneously. The seams on the fishnets tore, but Tobio couldn’t bring himself to care. The cold air hitting his member made him shiver, and he was vaguely aware that he was entirely naked except for the choker, and Suga’s boots which he just took off so Hajime could pull his clothes off of him entirely.

“Fuck, you’re so pretty,” Hajime breathed. Tobio blushed at the praise, but was suddenly taken by the pleasure of Hajime’s finger brushing the tip of his cock. He let out a needy whine, and Hajime chuckled.

“You make such pretty noises too,” he muttered. “Everything about you is so damn pretty.”

He began to leave more marks around Tobio’s thighs, starting from the bottom and working his way up, his lips growing dangerously close to his groin. Meanwhile, pleasurable tremors shot throughout Tobio’s entire body as Hajime stroked him, his thumb rubbing the precome beginning to dribble from the head.

He moved his hand to the base of Tobio’s cock, and Tobio sucked in a breath as he felt the warm wetness of Hajime’s mouth engulf him. He could feel his knees start to buckle, but he held himself up. He threw his head back in a moan, Hajime’s tongue sliding around the bottom before swirling around. He hollowed out his cheeks, the pressure of it making Tobio gasp aloud. As his eyes had fluttered shut, he could only tell Hajime was taking his jeans off by the sound of his zipper. 

“Fuck,” Tobio hissed, managing to speak through the haze of mounting pleasure. “Impatient, are you?”

Hajime popped off of him with a quick kiss to the side of his member before shucking off his pants and his boxers and leaving them beside Tobio’s clothes at the wall.

“Very much so,” Hajime stood, eyes trained on Tobio’s choker. “But we’ve only made it to the doorway, so I’ll give you some options on where we go next.”

He had a devilish glare to his eye — one that made heat pool in Tobio’s stomach — as he grabbed Tobio’s choker with a yank, walking him over to the kitchen and firmly pushing Tobio’s chest against the table. Tobio gasped at his strength as he practically folded him in half, running one rough hand along Tobio’s ass while the other yanked up on his choker, temporarily cutting off his airway. Tobio found that, sadistic as it sounded, he liked this a _lot_. He liked getting pushed around and yanked and bitten and choked — the pain was pleasure to him. He liked how his head spun when his airway was cut off, or when his head hit the wall.He wanted more. 

“I could take you on this table,” Hajime bent over him, and Tobio could feel Hajime’s hardened cock pressed between his thighs, and he pushed backward almost instinctively, but Hajime instead continued to talk, teasing with his voice and sending beautiful images through Tobio’s mind. “I’ll bend you over just like this and choke you with this chain of yours. Make you beg for more while you can hardly breathe. How does that sound?”

Tobio tried to reply, but he couldn’t speak. Hajime chuckled.

“Ah, right, you can’t answer,” he sat back up and pulled Tobio upright, allowing him to breathe again. Now, he pushed Tobio by the shoulder over to the sofa, shoving him into a seated position with his legs to his chest, and kneeling before him.

“I could take you on the sofa,” Hajime traced his finger around Tobio’s entrance, and the setter whined needfully. Again, Hajime just continued to talk. “I’ll slot myself between these pretty legs of yours, tease you a bit with my tongue before going in with my fingers, which I’ll have you suck beforehand. Don’t think I forgot about your little stunt at the club.”

That stunt was, indeed, why they were here in the first place. Tobio wasn’t sure how he could possibly forget. 

Hajime suddenly stood, pulling the setter to his feet, and guiding him to the bedroom by his wrist. The smell of smoke was less abundant here, replaced instead by more vanilla. Hajime had a seat, pulling Tobio into his lap and starting to kiss his neck. His bare thighs sat atop Hajime’s, both of them hot to the touch. 

“I could let you ride me on the bed,” Hajime whispered in his ear, “watch you come undone on while you fuck yourself on my cock. When you get tired, I’ll take over, bruise those beautiful thighs of yours with my fingers while I make you scream.”

Tobio moaned loudly just at the thought, and felt Hajime smirk into his neck.

“So what’s it gonna be?” Hajime’s voice was sultry and low, his breath tickling Tobio’s ear.

“How do you want me to ruin you tonight?”  
  


———

“Couch. Now. And take off your clothes,” Shouyou’s voice was uncharacteristically demanding, but he could tell Tooru liked the growl in it by the way his features lit up like a Christmas tree. 

“Not gonna take them off for me?” Tooru pouted, sitting on the arm of the couch and tossing his jacket to the side, revealing all of the hickeys Shouyou had already left on his shoulders.

“That’s what you get for teasing me in the elevator,” he frowned, unbuttoning his shirt fully and shrugging it off his shoulders. Tooru’s eyes shamelessly roamed his body, his tongue gliding over his lips and his eyes glazed over with hunger.

“You should have just fucked me while we were in there,” he said huskily, sliding his top off and leaving him in his biker shorts. Shouyou loved when his voice got like that, and his dick gave a little twitch in his jeans.

“Well at least here,” Shouyou straddled Tooru on all fours his hair hanging over his face in an orange curtain, “I can take my time with you.”

Despite his own words, it was a struggle for Shouyou to hold out his teasing for much longer. Dancing with Tooru felt like one of the hottest moments of his life, and it had been so much fun. Tooru was an excellent partner — in dance, in sex, in volleyball, in just being _his_. He was impossible to resist, and it took every ounce of self control Shouyou had not to just give in and fuck him right now. As much of a tease that Tooru was, Shouyou was also a tease, and it was always fun to see who could hold out the longest. It made the sex feel ten times as good.

It seemed Tooru was impatient, as usual, because he hooked his finger beneath Shouyou’s choker and pulled his face toward his own, their lips crashing together. Tooru smiled into the kiss, removing his finger and instead positioning his hands in Shouyou’s hair. Shouyou melted into the touch, humming mildly as his hands roamed Tooru’s now naked torso. His skin was warm beneath his palms, as if heated by his touch. Shouyou’s tongue slid into his mouth while his finger drew a line down the center of his abdomen.

Tooru let out a soft whine as Shouyou began to palm his erection through the fabric, and Shouyou felt a thrum of satisfaction. He loved hearing the noises Tooru made — they showed that he was doing it right, and doing it well. He began at his earlobe, kissing a line down his jaw and neck, biting his way down Tooru’s chest, and leaving more new bruises beside the mostly-healed ones on his abdominals. However, as he reached Tooru’s waistband, a slender finger placed itself beneath his chin and tilted his head to face straight forward. Tooru’s face was flushed with pleasure, his brown eyes pleading, but a smirk on his face.

“Hold on a second, love,” he tapped his finger on Shouyou’s nose in a little hoop. “I’m the one who promised to spoil you, remember?”

Shouyou’s heart began to race faster in his chest, heat spreading from his cheeks throughout his entire body. Tooru pulled his legs in and then kneeled on the ground, sitting on his legs while he waited for Shouyou to move into position. Deciding not to protest, because he knew the setter was stubborn, Shouyou sat in front of him, unzipping his jeans. Tooru helped pull them off, along with his boxers, and then, as an afterthought, pulled off his own shorts as well. Shouyou admired the way the sparkly choker stood out among the bruises on his neck, and couldn’t get over just how pretty Tooru looked. He could still hardly believe that he’d been the one to put those marks all over his body.

“You’re beautiful,” Shouyou breathed. “Absolutely perfect.”

Tooru blushed, staring up at Shouyou with such a pure and genuine smile that it almost felt wrong for the situation.

“You always flatter me, Shouyou,” he replied. He leaned forward to plant a kiss on Shouyou’s thigh, resting one of his hands on each of Shouyou’s knees before spreading them just a little further apart so he could slot himself perfectly between Shouyou’s legs. He kissed and bit at Shouyou’s thighs, sliding his hands back to squeeze his firm ass. Shouyou stroked his hair, which was always incredibly soft and fluffy. He admired the way Tooru’s long eyelashes fluttered as he closed his eyes and moved closer and closer to his election. He planted a kiss right beside his dick, and Shouyou shivered at the feeling of Tooru’s cheek against his sensitive skin. Tooru then took his time kissing his way from base to tip, making Shouyou’s grip in his hair tighten, the ginger making a low, needy noise in his throat. As if that were the green light, Tooru wrapped his lips around the head of Shouyou’s cock, holding the base with one hand. Shouyou moaned as a tremor of pleasure wracked through his entire body at the warmth and wetness of Tooru’s mouth around him.

“Mmm, fuck, Tooru,” he swore under his breath. Tooru responded by sinking himself deeper, and humming around his cock. The vibration forced a moan from Shouyou’s lips, and he fought to keep himself still from rocking forward into Tooru’s mouth. He didn’t want to overwhelm him. The older of the two suddenly hollowed out his cheeks and sucked in, the pressure eliciting another moan from Shouyou. Tooru continued to suck, swirling his tongue along the sides a bit before receding and giving special attention to the head, licking away the precum that was already forming. His hand was pumping at the base, making sure every inch of Shouyou’s cock was being attended to. He dipped deep again, tilting his head slightly to the side.

“You taste good,” Tooru mentioned, mouth still around Shouyou’s dick, and the ginger could hardly fathom a response with how good the vibrating sensation was making him feel.

“T-thanks,” he murmured, and Tooru sucked in again, making him hiss with the pleasure. With the hours of teasing beforehand along with the stimulation now, Shouyou could already feel himself starting to get close to the edge.

“T-Tooru,” he managed, brushing Tooru’s stray bangs from his forehead. “I-I‘ll be close soon. If you keep going, I might—”

Tooru interrupted him by pumping his hand and pushing his mouth even deeper, and Shouyou could feel himself brush the back of his throat. He gasped loudly, and this seemed to spur Tooru on even further. He pumped faster, sucked harder, almost as if he _wanted_ Shouyou to come. It was then that Shouyou realized that he probably did. He could feel himself getting close, feel the heat become almost just too much, the pressure building within him.

“L-love,” he said the nickname, unsure he could form more than one syllable. “W-where should I—?”

Tooru pointed at his throat, not ceasing his ministrations, and that was enough of an answer for Shouyou. He gulped. His hands tightened further in Tooru’s hair as his pleasure spiked into climax, and suddenly he was coming hard, hot and wet in the cavern of Tooru’s mouth. He threw his head back with a yell that sounded vaguely like Tooru’s name, but he could hardly even understand himself. His partner never took his lips off of him, not until it seemed he’d been sucked dry, and when he was, Tooru licked his lips as he popped off, smiling to himself. He was clearly very pleased with his work.

“Do you feel spoiled?” He asked, a teasing lilt to his voice. Shouyou was still dizzy, his heart throbbing in his chest as he began to come down from his high. He could only nod vaguely, muttering, “yeah, really spoiled.”

Tooru chuckled. “Don't get tired on me, Shou,” he said. “You’re still hard.”

Shouyou blinked awake in surprise, staring down at himself in disbelief. Tooru was grinning at him wickedly.

“I’ll give you a minute,” the brunette placed a soft kiss on the head of his already oversensitive cock. “Let me get the lube.”

———

Tobio hissed as the first of Hajime’s fingers went in, swearing under his breath. He’d used lube, of course, but the motion itself was rough, just how Tobio liked it. His finger was twice as thick, if not more, than Tobio’s, and considering that he’d never had anything up there before this was certainly an awakening. His eyes shot open but saw nothing but stars when Hajime curled his finger and pressed against Tobio’s prostate. He couldn’t help the moan that poured from his lips, his hands twisting themselves in Hajime’s sheets. His face scrunched with pain, and relaxed with pleasure.

“H-holy shit,” he breathed, feeling his heartbeat against his own chest as he lied on his stomach. He was lying with his head on one side, his legs trembling from where he stood, bent over the mattress. Hajime stood behind him, holding his hips steady, but making him weak at the same time while his finger explored Tobio’s insides. This had made that first breach of his walls all the more surprising and pleasurable — he couldn’t see behind him. He liked the unexpected— it excited him. All he could rely on were sounds, touches, movements, and he didn’t mind at all. He trusted Hajime. Even if he didn’t know him all that well, he knew Hajime was reliable, and would be careful with him if that was what he wanted (it wasn’t, but the sentiment was there nonetheless). Tobio couldn’t help but trust him — he was the same way in middle school. He’d always looked up to Hajime as somebody who would take care of him and be a pillar of support no matter what.

This trust made it easier to relax, made Tobio feel less guilty to enjoy this.

“You feeling okay?” The older of the two asked huskily. Tobio opened his mouth to reply, but Hajime curled his finger against his prostrate again, and he moaned loudly, unable to reply. Hajime chuckled.

“That’s good to hear,” he said. “This is your first time, isn’t it?”

Tobio nodded against the sheets, and Hajime rubbed his back soothingly.

“That’s okay,” he said earnestly. “After I prep you a bit I’ll let you take over, okay?”

“Okay,” Tobio breathed, smiling to himself. That was part of the reason he’d chosen the third option anyway. First of all, it would give him an element of control to make sure he could really go through with this. Second of all, he wanted to see Hajime’s face as he sank down onto him. Just the thought made his skin crawl with _need_.

He let out a cry of pain, followed by pleasure, as a second finger slid inside him. They thrusted slowly in and out, scissoring and spreading his walls from the inside, all while he moaned at the feeling and Hajime gently rubbed his back. It was so enticing how Hajime could go from shoving him against walls and onto furniture to standing there and taking his time to ensure Tobio was ready for him. Tobio loved it. He felt like he was floating while his heart hammered with anticipation and his knuckles went white gripping at the sheets.

“Fuck, right there, H-Hajjme,” Tobio stuttered out his name, and felt Hajime shiver behind him, his fingers pausing inside of him.

“I love when you say my name like that,” Hajime rewarded him with another curl of his fingers, leaning over to press a kiss to his neck. Tobio shuddered with contentment, releasing another moan. It reached a point where, as good as Hajime’s fingers felt inside of him, he wanted more.

“ _Hajime_ ,” he whined, taking even himself by surprise at his sudden desperation. “I want you. Now.”

If Tobio could see behind him, he would have seen the way Hajime stared at him, eyes wide and cheeks heating with color. His cock twitched needfully, as listening to Tobio unravel beneath him had made it incredibly difficult to restrain himself. He wanted to hear more.

“It’ll be a tight fit, for sure, but nothing you can’t handle,” Hajime kissed him softly right above his hip. “Do you feel ready?”

Tobio nodded, and Hajime extracted his fingers. He suddenly felt empty, and his hole clenched around cold air. He surely felt stretched enough, and he felt confident enough in himself to proceed. Hajime moved himself to the bed, leaning his back against the headrest. Tobio joined him, straddling his legs to lean in and kiss him. Hajime stroked his hair and his bare back, hands sliding down his sides and smoothing themselves down his legs. Hajime’s skin was hot beneath Tobio’s, his lips soft but his canines sharp against Tobio’s tongue. Hajime was the perfect mix of rough and smooth, reckless and cautious, giving and taking. Tobio wanted to be that for him too.

“Do you want to use a condom?” Hajime asked, all business suddenly. “I don’t mind either way — whatever will make you more comfortable.”

Tobio considered it for a moment, but shook his head.

“No,” he said, leaning forward to kiss at Hajime’s jaw. “I only wanna feel _you_ inside me.”

Hajime tried to reply, but it came out as sort of a choked, strangled noise.

Tobio thought it was cute how Hajime could talk dirty, but as soon as Tobio did it back he turned into a stuttering mess.

He grabbed the lube from where Hajime had left it and squeezed some of it on his fingers. He wrapped them around Hajime’s dick, and he made a quiet groan under his breath as Tobio began to cover it in lube. Tobio brushed his thumb over the head a bit before releasing it and sitting off his knees. He moved backward slightly to position himself over Hajime’s dick, and gradually, he began to lower himself. Hajime was patient, holding himself still as the head of his cock brushed against Tobio’s entrance. Tobio started to sink down, his walls already clenching in anticipation.

“Just relax, okay?” Hajime offered his hand out to Tobio, but extended his pinky. Tobio found the gesture comforting, and wrapped his own pinky around Hajime’s. His partner’s forest green eyes stared up at Tobio as if he were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Tobio smiled back at him and took a deep breath, finally sinking low enough for Hajime to enter inside of him.

He was right — it was a tight fit. He’d always thought Hajime was big, but he’d never expected to feel just how big he was. I’m addition, this was the first time he’d ever even had anything up his ass besides Hajime’s fingers from a few minutes before. He gasped as his muscles first clench against Hajime, his breaths coming in short spurts, his mind reeling at the feeling of being slowly filled. Tobio hissed slightly in pain as he continued to gradually sink, taking his time. He could feel his partner’s cock spreading and stretching him even further than before.

Meanwhile, Hajime had started to shake on the bed, his eyes rolling back with pleasure. It spurred Tobio on to know that he was making Hajime feel good, and the pain began to subside into pleasure as well.

“ _Fuck_ , you’re so tight,” Hajime breathed, placing his hands on Tobio’s hips, but not applying any pressure downward. He didn’t want to rush him, he just needed something to hold onto. He was breathing heavily, as if speaking took a lot of effort. “Take your time. _Holy shit,_ you feel so good Tobio. So damn good.”

Tobio wasn’t even fully at the hilt when he felt Hajime against his prostate, and his whole body shuddered. The vibrations made Hajime shiver with pleasure in return, his grip tightening on Tobio’s hips but not moving them. Tobio was looking forward to seeing the bruises tomorrow. Slowly, he rose up, until he was midway to the top, and then sunk back down quickly. Hajime let out a sharp moan of pleasure, his head tilting backward. Naturally, Tobio did it again, smiling to himself as Hajime became a mess beneath him. Tobio didn’t have much room to talk, though, because every time Hajime’s dick hit his prostate it was like sparks flew before his eyes, and he was making noises that he could hardly even register anymore.

He could get used to this.

Tobio found a comfortable rhythm, and within a few seconds, Hajime was thrusting upward in perfect synchronization. Tobio started to speed up, feeling himself get closer and closer to the edge. After all that teasing and touching beforehand, it was a miracle he hadn’t come yet. Hajime must have had incredible endurance too, but by the way his breaths were getting quicker and more uneven, and the occasional whispered swear or breathy Tobio, the settee could tell that he was close as well. He went as fast as he could, his legs starting to ache slightly beneath him, but the pleasure overrode it, at least for a little while. His breaths came in gasps, as if he were running out of air.

He vaguely wondered why he hadn’t been doing this before. Then again, Tobio hadn’t thought all that much about sex with anybody but Hinata before, and in that case he’d always imagined himself on top. However, this feeling was so indescribably _good_ , and he wasn’t sure if it was because it was Hajime or if he just liked being torn apart like this, or maybe a combination of both.

“T-Tobio,” Hajime paused his rhythm for a moment, “do you want me to take over?”

Tobio nodded. There was a moment of shifting before Tobio was the one on his back, Hajime thrusting into him from above, still gripping his hips roughly and swearing occasionally between breaths. Tobio, on the other hand, now felt like the air was being _punched_ out of him, but it it felt so good. Hajime slammed relentlessly into his prostate, and the room started to spin before his eyes. It hurt so _good_. He felt like he was being split in half, but he loved every second of it. He could feel the pressure building, feel his insides start to tense.

“H-Hajime, I’m gonna—”

“Me too, f-fuck, _Tobio_.”

The way that he’d breathed his name between moans of pleasure is what sent Tobio over the edge. His entire body shook with orgasm, stars taking over his vision while his back arched off the bed. It was Hajime’s name that came from his lips as he came, covering the both of them in his cum. This must have sent Hajime over as well, because Tobio vaguely heard his name being called, but more closely felt the way Hajime tensed inside of him before releasing, filling him up from the inside.

After a moment or two of them catching their breaths, Hajime collapsed forward onto Tobio, wrapping his arms around the other and stroking his hair. Tobio hummed pleasantly, amused at how cuddly he was being. It was adorable.

“You did so good,” he told Tobio breathlessly, kissing him lazily on the cheek. “You’re perfect.”

“Thank you,” Tobio smiled, burying his nose in Hajime’s hair, which somehow still smelled like vanilla. “You were incredible. Thanks for being patient with me.”

“Anything for you,” Hajime mumbled in his ear, voice slurred with exhaustion. “We should really shower, you know,” he added as he held Tobio tighter and snuggled into his chest. Tobio chuckled, kissing the top of his head.

“Funny you should say that, it seems you don’t want to leave,” Tobio ruffled his hair affectionately. “Come on, now. If you don’t get up then I won’t be able to.”

“Exactly, that’s the idea” Hajime said, and Tobio laughed even harder.

“You’re a grown man, you know,” Tobio reminded him teasingly. “You’re really acting like a little kid after you fucked me like that?”

“And I’ll do it again,” Hajime smirked up at him.

Tobio grinned. “I’ll count on it.”

———

Shouyou didn’t get the chance to admire how Tooru’s eyes fluttered shut when he lowered himself on Shouyou’s dick, because Shouyou’s eyes fluttered shut too. Despite the prep, Tooru’s walls were so tight around him and the two of them moaned in unison. Shouyou let his had fall onto the back of the couch behind him, the pleasure pooling in his body. His hands roamed Tooru’s back as the older of the two lowered himself fully, moaning with satisfaction as Shouyou hit his prostrate. The ginger had to restrain himself from just coming right then at the wanton way Tooru had moaned his name.

Instead, due to their position on the couch, with Shouyou being seated and Tooru slowly rising and sinking on his cock, Shouyou took the time to fully appreciate how great Tooru’s body was. He trailed kisses all along Tooru’s chest, biting sometimes when Tooru clenched around him, unable to control himself. He _worshipped_ Tooru’s torso, tracing his muscles with his fingers and roaming over them with his lips and his hands. He licked a stripe between Tooru’s pectorals before deciding to flick his tongue over one of Tooru’s nipples. The brunette shivered above him, and the vibrations were sent straight to Shouyou’s cock deep inside of him.

In response, Shouyou hummed with his lips around Tooru’s nipple, sending back vibrations of his own. He brushed his thumb over the other simultaneously, and Tooru whined at the stimulation. Shouyou didn’t think he’d ever get tired of listening tot he noises Tooru made. He wanted to listen to them all day, and he absolutely would if he could. He removed his lips, blowing cold air onto the area he’d just flicked his tongue over, and Tooru shivered with pleasure. It was so easy to make him shake, which Shouyou thought was interesting because Tooru was unshakeable on the court. The thought of having somebody so invincible at his mercy would have been a power trip in of itself, if Shouyou didn’t want to take care of him with his life, appreciate every inch of his body.

“ _Mmm— Sh-Shouyou_ ,” Tooru whined, slamming himself down all the way to the base of Shouyou’s cock. They moaned together, Tooru’s tight inner-walls gripping Shouyou in just the right way. Again, Tooru’s nails had found themselves on Shouyou’s shoulders, sliding downward and dragging down his back. They dug into Shouyou’s soft skin, tearing it just at the surface, and Shouyou was already looking forward to admiring the marks in the mirror tomorrow. He wasn’t sure how he could possibly be thinking about tomorrow when he had this beautiful setter ruining himself on his dick right now.

He rested his hands on Tooru’s hips, his head falling back again in a low groan. It wasn’t fair how good Tooru was at this. He was Tooru Oikawa, of course, he was good at everything. Shouyou must be really lucky to have him right now. Amid the pleasure, Shouyou still took time to caress Tooru’s body, kiss trails down his arm, kiss each of his knuckles followed by his fingertips, on both hands. His body shuddered, overwhelmed with how amazing he felt inside Tooru, how hot his skin was to the touch.

His hips started to thrust back, matching Tooru’s rhythm perfectly (as he always did) and ensuring that Tooru felt just as good as he did. He was rewarded with a loud moan from the setter, and vaguely he wondered how the people in the neighboring suites must look right now. He was tempted to laugh aloud, but they were picking up speed and the thought was whisked away by waves of pleasure.

“T-Tooru,” he managed, “you’re so amazing. You’re doing so _good_ , right now. You feel so _good_.”

“Y-you feel better,” Tooru breathed, tossing his head back while his spine arched beautifully. “P-please, don’t stop.”

Shouyou didn’t think he could if he tried. He could feel the way Tooru clenched around him when he hit his prostate, could feel the way he convulsed with pleasure. It was intoxicating. Shouyou didn’t want it to end, but he could tell he was getting closer and closer. The pressure was starting to build in his stomach, the room suddenly a hundred degrees as his hips slammed into Tooru’s, their breaths hot against each other’s skin and it felt like they would both burn alive. Shouyou didn’t want to stop burning.

“F-fuck,” Tooru swore. “I- I’m so close, Shou!” 

“Me too, love,” Shouyou responded, his voice all thready with lack of breath. They sped up in synchronization, moving in time with each other, the air around them heating with them. Shouyou’s hair was plastered to his forehead at this point, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.He was too focused on how beautiful Tooru was. It simply wasn’t fair — Shouyou was sure he made the ugliest face when he climaxed, but Tooru’s was angelic. It was like a beautifully painted piece of art, crafted by an expert and molded by a sculptor onto the body of a young god.

He watched the way Tooru’s eyebrows arched upward when he came, heard the way his name spilled over Tooru’s parted lips like a song, _Shouyou_. Watched his chocolate eyes burst wide from where they had been squeezing shut. He felt his nails dig deeper into his back, felt his muscles tense, felt his insides clench even tighter around Shouyou than before. Tooru’s cum had made a mess of their stomachs, and the feeling of it against his body sent Shouyou over the edge. He came _hard_ , the feeling wracking through his entire body. White spots blurred across his vision as he shamelessly yelled Tooru’s name. Finally, they had become one with the heat, and were a beautifully burning pile of bare skin and heavy breaths; sweat and sensual touches. It was _divine_.

They both took a bit of time to catch their breath, Tooru rising on shaky legs to move Shouyou’s dick outside of him. Before he knew it, he was sinking forward and kissing Shouyou softly and tiredly all over his face. His smile was bright and gorgeous as ever, his eyes tired but still filled with that brilliance Shouyou loved. He leaned forward, placing a kiss beside Tooru’s ear.

“You’re perfect, you know that?” He murmured softly, kissing the same spot again for good measure. “Absolutely beautiful. It’s not fair how you get to look so pretty all the time.”

Tooru smiled, nuzzling his face into Shouyou’s neck.

“You have no idea how warm I feel when you call me pretty,” he said sweetly, his voice soft and grateful. “I actually feel pretty. It’s amazing.”

Shouyou grinned.

“Well then, you’re the most perfect person on this planet,” he said truthfully, wrapping his arms around him. “So I’d better hope you feel like it.”

“I can’t be the most perfect if you’re here, sunshine,” Tooru kissed the corner of his lip, meeting Shouyou’s eyes. Shouyou admired how his cheeks were flushed, his eyes warm with care and comfort and what looked like gratitude, though Shouyou wasn’t sure why Tooru was grateful. He could do a lot better than Shouyou, but if it was Shouyou he chose to be his, even if just for the next week that he’d be in Brazil, then Shouyou wasn’t complaining.

The thought froze in his head, his heart suddenly giving a lurch.

Tooru must have noticed it on his face, because his brow knitted in concern, his fingers reaching out to cup Shouyou’s cheek. Shouyou leaned into his touch, closing his eyes. He was fine. He should just appreciate what he has now. Try not to worry about it until it came.

He knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

“What’s wrong, sunshine?” Tooru asked softly, his touch an affirmation that he was still there, even if just for now.

Shouyou couldn’t help the tears burning at the back of his eyes. Not the good kind of burning, like he had just felt, but the bad one. He felt like a dam that would overflow if he did so much as opened his mouth, and so he shook his head.

“Nothing,” he replied, though that didn’t convince either of them, so he added, “I just don’t want you to leave.”

Tooru seemed to freeze too, his shoulders tensing, and Shouyou instantly felt bad for telling him. He hated seeing Tooru look distressed. However, the look was only there for a moment before Tooru took a deep breath and released it. His comforting smile returned, his hand relaxing and instead stroking Shouyou’s cheek with his thumb.

“I don’t want to leave either,” he said quietly. “I’ll — I’ll miss you. So, _so_ much. I’ll probably think about you every night, just because it’s impossible not to. I know that we said we would just have each other for here and for now, while we couldn’t have who we really wanted. But good God, Shouyou, I think I’ve fallen for you.”

Just hearing the words made Shouyou’s heart melt away in his chest. He should have known it was going to be like this. He _knew_ how easily he got attached to people, he _knew_ how hard it was to tear himself away from those he loved. Shouyou _knew_ , and he did it anyway. And it was even harder now, because now he knew Tooru felt the same way.

“And that’s going to fuck my life up for a good, long time,” Tooru was still saying, his expression pained but still full of love. “You’re unforgettable, and gorgeous, and — and so full of love and life and _sunshine_. There’s a reason I call you that, you know. I feel all warm when you touch me, I can’t help myself because I’m just so drawn to you. You’re irresistible. And there’s so much energy and life in you — when we play volleyball on the beach together, it’s like I remember how to have fun. I’d honestly forgotten, until I met you again. You literally brought the light back into my life, and it pains me to know that I’m rewarding you by leaving in a week.”

“It’s not your fault,” Shouyou said immediately, pulling him closer. “I don’t blame you for anything, so don’t you dare blame yourself, okay?” He could feel a tear slide down his cheek and land in Tooru’s hair, but he ignored it. His chest felt tight, his throat dry and his tongue heavy. “I didn’t think I could fall in love with somebody this fast, but somehow you made it possible. When we danced today, I knew afterward that I’d never be the same. I’ll never dance with anybody else the way I did with you — it just wouldn’t feel right. There’s _nobody_ like you. I know I tell you how beautiful you are all the time, but your soul is beautiful too, Tooru. You’re a lot of a better person than you think you are.”

“I feel selfish for wanting to keep you,” Tooru admitted. “You’ve got a whole career ahead of you, and I’m not getting in the way of that. Not even if you let me.”

“And neither will I,” Shouyou rubbed his back soothingly. “You’re incredible, Tooru Oikawa. I won’t get in your way, as much as I’d like to, and as selfish as I am for admitting that.” He sighed. “I’m sorry for bringing it up, I didn’t mean to make everything real.”

Tooru shook his head, smiling sadly to himself. “Don’t worry about it, Shou. Somebody has to stop me from living my life in delusion.” He slowly got to his feet, scooping Shouyou up from the sofa. Shouyou wrapped himself around him, not wanting to let go.

“Come on, let’s shower,” Tooru kissed him gently. “I made a bit of a mess.”

Shouyou chuckled, the tension lifting off of his shoulders.

“Yeah, you kinda did.”

After an unnecessarily long shower consisting of splash fights and Shouyou getting soap in his eye, their spirits were considerably higher as he and Tooru lied on the bed together. They laid beneath the covers, each wearing boxers now, and Tooru was now watching with amusement as Shouyou traced the muscles on his torso with wonder.

“Are you sure you’re human?” He breathed.

“Who knows, but I’m close enough, aren’t I?” Tooru joked, taking the hand that was currently running over his abs and bringing it to his lips. Shouyou watched with his beautiful, honey-brown eyes, soft pink, lips parted slightly. When they watched sunsets together, his eyes turned almost gold, and Tooru thought it was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen. “I’ve convinced myself you’re the sun god, Apollo, and that you’re just hiding it from me.”

Shouyou blushed brilliantly before laughing softly to himself, climbing over Tooru and wrapping his arms behind his neck.

“Maybe I am,” he said, beaming at him with his chin resting right above Tooru’s heartbeat. “Only because I’m convinced you must be some sort of god too. Maybe . . . Eros? Or Athena? I feel like you could be Athena.”

Tooru laughed. “Those are two very different divine beings.”

“Maybe you’re Zeus,” Shouyou speculated, his eyes scrutinizing him cutely. “You know, because greek god or human or Great King, you’re still the greatest. Then again, Zeus was kind of an asshole.”

“You don’t think I’m an asshole?” Tooru cocked an eyebrow. He knew how Shouyou felt about him — he just wanted to hear him say it again. It felt good, to know somebody didn’t think he was a complete burning garbage pile of a human, especially because he’d convinced himself that he was.

Shouyou’s smile softened, and he leaned forward to kiss Tooru on the forehead.

“Of course not, love,” he said sweetly. “Don’t think those things about yourself. You’re worth loving, okay?”

_You’re worth loving._

He was worth loving.

He wasn’t sure how he was, but he trusted Shouyou’s words. He trusted him with everything.

“And you’re easy to love,” Tooru replied, his eyes fluttering shut as he wrapped his arms around Shouyou. “Thank you, Shouyou.”

“Thank you, Tooru.”

Before he could ask why, Shouyou kissed him on the lips before burying his head into Tooru’s shoulder again.

“Goodnight, Tooru.”

“Goodnight, Shouyou.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY AAAAAAA  
> at least it’s a little fluffy   
> also my apologies for taking so long to write that!! I hope you enjoyed it, though.   
> Also thank you all so much for the comments and the kudos! You’re all too kind, and reading your comments always make my day, so thank you so much!   
> I might start that Oikawa x Reader fic just because I have a whole lot of it typed out, but this fic will be my priority for the time being. I love you all!!


	9. apollo and the king

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As one era ends, another begins.  
> Even if only for a matter of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- SMUT WARNING (because I don’t want you to totally hate me)
> 
> I apologize in advance. This hurt me to write and I knew what was coming so I can’t imagine how y’all feel reading it so w h o o p s.

  
In his mind, Shouyou recalled the first time he’d said it.

The first time he’d _really_ said it.

It had been the Wednesday of the next week. Tooru was leaving on Friday, but they’d been doing a good job of pretending like it wasn’t happening. Shouyou was coming back to Tooru’s room, planning to spend the night. He’d been at the beach all day and had only gone back to his apartment to shower and grab his things. Pedro always scoffed at how Shouyou was spending more nights in somebody’s hotel room than his own apartment, and Shouyou always pressed down the witty remark that he wouldn’t have to deal with it much longer.

Thinking about it was painful, so he busied himself recalling the events of that night, wishing he could feel it for the first time all over again. 

“I’ve been waiting for you, sunshine,” Tooru’s sing-song voice rang out through the silence of the room after Shouyou had shut the door behind him. However, the man was nowhere to be seen. Shouyou dropped his bag to the floor, taking his time as he made his way to the bedroom. He made sure he was visible in the doorway as he took off his shirt. Tooru was always such a tease, and Shouyou relished the satisfaction in giving him a taste of his own medicine.

“Ugh,” the other boy groaned as he did so, proving that his efforts were fruitful. “Just get over here and fuck me already.”

Shouyou laughed, bright and amused, tossing his shirt to the side and finally getting a good look at Tooru. He had to bite back a noise when he saw that he was already half-naked, the only thing protecting his dignity being a long, grey shirt with a deep neckline that displayed his soft collarbone nicely, in addition to all of the marks Shouyou had left from previous nights. His legs looked smooth, as if he’d just been out of the shower and shaved, and Shouyou couldn’t help but take in how pretty he looked like this. He always looked pretty, of course, but now he just looked delectable, and Shouyou was suddenly starving. He moved to the bed with a smirk, climbing over the boy on all fours. His hair curtained around his face while the caramel of his eyes stared lovingly into the chocolate of Tooru’s.

“So impatient,” Shouyou loomed over him, his arms on either side and his sun-tinted hair hanging over and shadowing both of their faces.

Tooru chuckled. “Are you surprised? I’ve always been impatient, but then again—” he lifted his knee to grind against Shouyou’s already growing erection, and the ginger made a soft noise in the back of his throat. Tooru smirked, “so have you.”

Shouyou leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on his jaw.

“You look gorgeous, babe,” Shouyou whispered, smiling affectionately and brushing a stray strand of hair out of Tooru’s face. The boy beneath him blushed pink, smiling in response. Tooru loved to be praised on the court, Shouyou knew, so he had surmised a while ago that it would be no different in bed.

“You flatter me,” he replied, voice low. “Now come down here — quit teasing me.”

Shouyou snorted. “That’s rich, coming from you,” he said, but gave in anyway. He didn’t want to waste any more time. His hunger grew, satiated only by the low moans Tooru made as they kissed. Holding his position with one hand, he began to trace his finger along the other boy’s chest, pressing gently against his heart and brushing teasingly by his nipples as his hand traveled further down. He traced Tooru’s muscles,paying special attention to Tooru’s V-line until they dipped lower . . . lower . . .

Tooru involuntarily bucked his hips into his hand needfully, and Shouyou grinned into the kiss.

“So needy, babe,” he whispered, voice husky. He gently wrapped his fingers around Tooru’s aching cock, starting to stroke up and down. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

Their lips interlocked again as Tooru started to whimper into the kiss, the sounds like music to Shouyou’s ears. No matter how many times they’d brought each other to orgasm, Shouyou was always surprised how easily the boy became undone in his hands. Outside of the bedroom, he was all cocky swagger and powerful strength and grace, the poster boy for perfection. Now, he was a beautiful, stammering mess, and Shouyou loved it. He was fully hard now, and aching for some sort of release. As if reading his mind, Tooru threaded a finger through the strings of his sweatpants, pulling on a loop so the waistband went slack. One hand fisted itself in Shouyou’s hair while the other pulled off his sweatpants, then right after, his boxers. Once they reached his ankles, Shouyou kicked both of them off. He then made quick work of Tooru’s shirt, only breaking the kiss to slide it over his head.

Finally, they were both naked, panting, and sweating like it was nearing the end of the first set, and they’d been tied the whole game. Shouyou beamed down at his partner, glad to have him here, sharing this moment with him. Tooru would take him the way he was. They’d build each other up and take care of each other. They’d work to a climax together and fall back down, still in perfect synchronization. Tooru was perfect — there was no other word for it. He was everything he wanted, conveniently lying here, waiting for him in this hotel room in Brazil. Tooru was exactly what he needed, and Shouyou was exactly what Tooru needed.

He just wished they could stay this way.

Shouyou lowered himself to kiss Tooru’s neck, gently at first, but gradually starting to nip and bite at some of his pristine flesh. He couldn’t wait to see the newer small bruises that peppered his neck come the morning.

“ _Ah!_ ” Tooru whined as the shorter boy found the sensitive spot at his collarbone that drove him crazy. Naturally, Shouyou spent a good deal of time there, ensuring that there would be a nasty bruise to cover up before practice tomorrow. Not that he could exactly hide any of them. He placed a few more that would be hidden by his shirt, but would be impossible to hide when Tooru had to change. Shouyou felt his partner’s hands start to roam all over his shoulders, then run themselves over the familiar muscles of his back. He always loved this part.

“My teammates are gonna give me hell for those,” Tooru groaned, feigning irritation. Shouyou gave him a shit-eating grin.

“Good,” he said. “They’ll show them how much I love you.”

He knew Tooru liked them, despite his complaining. He even asked for them sometimes because he enjoyed the attention he got from his league whenever he showed up to practice with a new one. Of course, they would never suspect that little Shouyou Hinata was the one giving them to him. Then again, the ginger had always been full of surprises.

Reaching with his right hand to the nightstand beside them, he opened the drawer and fumbled around for a condom and some lube. For Pedro’s sake, they’d ended up just leaving their materials in Tooru’s suite, because that’s where they did all their fucking. He found the condom first, setting it atop the nightstand for later, then found the bottle of lube after some more rummaging. He broke the kiss and sat up, pouring the liquid onto his fingers with care. Tooru watched him, his eyes glazed over and watering with pure lust, and Shouyou felt another stab of hunger in his stomach.

“You ready, babe?” He asked softly, not wanting to get too ahead of himself.

Tooru’s eyes were blown wide with want. “Yes. _Please_ , touch me Shou,” he panted.

“You’re so cute when you beg,” Shouyou praised him, cupping his cheek with the hand not covered in lube. “Now try not to be too loud, love. We’ve got people in the next room over, remember?”

He inserted one finger into Tooru’s tightness, and watched as he began to unravel when he added a second. He pushed in and out, making sure to coat his walls thoroughly so that it wouldn’t hurt any more than it needed to. Shouyou always made sure to take good care of Tooru, just like Tooru did for him. He watched the man’s face twist in pleasure, his eyes rolling back before fluttering shut, his brows furrowing as he tried to keep himself quiet. _God, he was perfect._

“Fuck, you’re so pretty, Tooru,” Shouyou told him, adding a third finger just to see Tooru jolt, his eyes opening as he cried out. The shorter of the two chuckled, easing his thrusts and reapplying a little more lube before reentering. He scissored his fingers around, curling them experimentally and his breath caught in his throat when Tooru let out a pleased cry. Shouyou smiled to himself, repeating the action every so often until Tooru was trembling on his fingers.

“To think I used to be scared of you, when I can make you dissolve just like this,” Shouyou said softly, smiling. “Like sugar in water. That’s something Kuroo would’ve said — right?”

Tooru was too busy moaning to answer.

“Nnngh, _fuck_ , Shou, I — _ah!_ ”

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to reply,” Shouyou caressed his cheek. “Just keep making those pretty little noises. I love how you sound when you dissolve, _sugar_.”

Tooru moaned louder, and Shouyou grinned, realizing he liked the nickname. The brunette had given up entirely on being quiet, and Shouyou couldn’t say he minded. He felt his dick give a twitch, and realized he’d been so focused on pleasuring Tooru that he’d forgotten why he was applying the lube in the first place. He tore open the condom package with his teeth, and downright laughed when Tooru lit up at the sound of the package ripping.

“Shut up!” Tooru rolled his eyes as Shouyou laughed, his cheeks flushing even further. He stared at Shouyou with half-lidded eyes as he murmured, “I just want you so fucking bad.”

“I want you too,” Shouyou breathed, lust clouding his mind with those words. He put the condom on with ease, smiling down at Tooru’s gorgeously toned body, his perfect, _divine_ face. He couldn’t think of a single other thing he’d rather be doing as he slowly replaced his fingers with his dick. The familiar feeling of Tooru clenching around him sent his head spinning from lust, lack of air, or both.

“Ahh, fuck!” The setter beneath him swore, eyes glazed over with pleasure.

“ _Shit_ ,” Shouyou swore too, feeling Tooru’s insides swallow him up, the pressure sending stars through his vision for a moment. “You always take me so well, Tooru.”

“I’ll take you whenever you want,” Tooru replied, his voice hardly above a whisper. “God, I love you so much Shou.”

Shouyou felt his heart stutter at the words. “I love you too, Tooru.”

They’d been avoiding it, tip-toeing around the word in hopes that maybe if they didn’t say it explicitly then leaving would be a whole lot easier. But they both _felt_ it. They both _knew_ it, inwardly. Denying the words wasn’t going to do anything, so they felt good coming out of Shouyou’s mouth — like he’d taken a breath of air after drowning.

As he began to thrust at a steady pace, he could feel Tooru’s hands return to his back, his nails digging into his skin. Shouyou loved the pain — it made him feel good to know he was making Tooru feel good too. Good enough to reward him with the scratch makes he could admire the next morning.

“Feeling okay, love?” Shouyou whispered in his ear, kissing the outer edge of it. Tooru shuddered.

“Amazing, babe,” Tooru replied huskily. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Shouyou smiled, speeding up his pace. “We’re not even done yet. And besides, I’m doing this for you. You deserve to feel this good, okay? You deserve all the love I can give and more.”

Tooru could only reply in a whine as Shouyou’s dick hit his prostate at just the right angle. Shouyou kept going, harder and faster now at just the right spot. Both boys were suddenly a tornado of curses and moans and heavy breathing. Shouyou whispered sweet nothings into Tooru’s ear as he fucked him _relentlessly_ , grabbing the headboard for support. There was the familiar sensation of burning — hot flesh against hot flesh, breaths unsteady and warm — the feeling of heat in a firework just before everything explodes into color.

He wasn’t sure if he could last much longer.

“Fuck, _Tooru_ , I’m gonna—”

“ _Mmmm_ , me too—”

As always, it was almost simultaneous as they brought each other over the edge. Tooru came all over Shouyou’s chest, and Shouyou released inside of him. Both boys saw stars — no, _fireworks_ — for a minute or two before they fell back down to reality, still locked in an embrace with each other. They were panting, sweating, and breathing like they had at the end of the second set after playing overtime for far too long. Shouyou gently stroked Tooru’s hair with one hand, while Tooru traced his fingers along Shouyou’s biceps. He felt like he could lay here forever, but he knew that if the two of them didn’t get into the shower soon, Tooru would fall asleep and he might as well would be.

“You were so amazing, love,” Shouyou whispered to him. “As always.”

“Do we have to shower?” The other boy groaned, knowing what was coming.

Shouyou laughed softly. “Tooru, you can’t go to practice tomorrow covered in your own cum.”

Tooru scoffed sleepily, closing his eyes. “Says who?”

“Me,” Shouyou kissed his forehead. “I promised to take care of you, remember?”

Shouyou slowly pulled out, removing the condom and trying to throw it across the room into the trash, but missing by a foot. He felt the rumble in Tooru’s chest as he snickered.

“Nice shot,” he joked, and Shouyou rolled his eyes, flicking the other boy between the eyes.

“It’s dark,” he said moodily, sitting up. “And there’s a reason I didn’t go into basketball.”

Tooru laughed affectionately, sitting up as well and ruffling his hair. “Yeah, ‘cause you’re short.”

“Shut up,” Shouyou kissed him playfully on the lips before standing. “Now c’mon. It’s shower time.”

It took some wrangling, but eventually Shouyou had gotten the taller of the two in the shower with him. That was the hard part, and now that it was over with, Tooru turned to putty in his hands while Shouyou shampooed his hair. He had to sit on his knees, as he was so much taller, and there was also the fact that his legs were so shaky he thought they might give out, but he didn’t mind. His head was lolling limply to the side as Shouyou massaged the suds into his scalp. Shouyou knew that sex tired Tooru out, and always made sure to give him special treatment afterward. Tooru loved to be taken care of, and Shouyou loved taking care of him. They switched places about a minute or so later, and Shouyou thoroughly enjoyed the sensations Tooru was producing in his hair.

“The suns making it a lot lighter,” he remarked, twirling a strand that could pass as blonde around his finger. “And it’s getting pretty long, but I like it. It’s hot.”

Shouyou felt himself blush. “Thanks, sugar.”

“Of course,” Tooru bent down to nibble his ear affectionately, but retracted immediately after and made a face. “Ugh. My mouth tastes like soap.”

Shouyou snickered. “And I’m the dumb one?”

“You’re the one who fucked my brains out,” Tooru hummed, rinsing out Shouyou’s hair. “So I forgive me for not being entirely coherent.”

Shouyou giggled again, and after a few more minutes they turned off the water. Shouyou wore one of Tooru’s shirts and a pair of boxers to sleep, while Tooru just opted for a pair of sweats. They fell asleep on top of the comforter, Shouyou nuzzled into Tooru’s chest with an arm slung over his shoulder, while Tooru’s arms wrapped around him.

What Shouyou wouldn’t give to be back in that room right now, two nights ago, wrapped in Tooru’s loving embrace.

Now it was Friday morning, and he felt like the world had dropped away from under his feet, and all he could do was stand there and watch it plummet. He wore his butterfly shirt again, but it felt like mourning clothes for a funeral. It wasn’t like Tooru was dying — he just wasn’t going to see him.

For a very long time.

He didn’t even know when, as a matter of fact. That made it so much worse.

The weather was bright and beautiful, sunshine warm on his skin. It was as if it were mocking him. His throat was dry and closed heavily, the weight of the tears behind his eyes held back only by his steadily failing resolve. He walked beside Tooru, who wasn’t looking at him. His eyes were uncharacteristically trained on his shoes, their steps slow and hesitant. As if he believed that if they walked slowly enough they could go backward in time — cheat the system and stay longer. Shouyou sought out his hand, and was taken by surprise Tooru gripped it immediately, holding him tightly with surprising strength, as if he thought he would disappear if he let go. His whole arm had tensed, his shoulders following soon after, until his steps finally slowed to a pause. The world still continued around them, but Tooru pretended as if it didn’t. Shouyou noticed the tears making tracks down his cheeks as his shoulders started to shake, noticed how broken his smile had become.

It was as if the touch had pulled the final block holding up the tower out of place, and now the whole thing came tumbling down. Seeing Tooru Oikawa cry was something that broke you a little inside, and Shouyou felt something crumble within him. 

“We’ll be okay, Tooru,” Shouyou wrapped his arms around him, hardly believing his own words any more than Tooru did. “There’s no use in crying, even if you look beautiful when you do it.” His voice took on a lighter, teasing tone. “I’m jealous, really, of what a pretty crier you are.”

Tooru laughed brokenly through the tears, his smile genuine and brilliant. He pointed at Shouyou, wiping a tear from his own cheek with his other hand while he did so.

“You don’t look all that bad either, sunshine,” he replied, sniffling sharply but keeping the smile on his face. “Give yourself some more credit.”

Seeing Tooru trying to be positive was helping. Shouyou snorted, wiping his eyes with his arm. He hadn’t even realized he been crying until he felt the wetness disappear into the skin of his arm. “You first,” he said.

They stared at each other, Tooru’s back to the sun. He felt like they were miles apart already, though there was hardly a foot between them. Shouyou was hesitant to reach for him again, as the first time it had pushed Tooru’s tears and his own over the edge. Thankfully, it was Tooru that reached for him first, taking his hand once again and rubbing the back of it with his thumb. The gesture spread warmth throughout Shouyou’s entire body. 

“I was never supposed to fall for you like this,” Tooru looked at their joined hands with a small smile. As longing as his voice was, there was no regret buried in there. Instead, he sounded wistful. “It wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“And yet here we are,” Shouyou replied, with equal longing. “Two idiots trying to stop time before it all fades away.”

It was just like a sunset. Fleeting, and only able to be appreciated for a few rare moments when the light isn’t blinding, when the sky is shades of pink and blue and orange; the perfect backdrop for a pair of almost-strangers sharing a table and small bits of their hearts. But even that quickly gives way to an indigo darkness, in which said strangers can then share a moonlit kiss and an unspoken truth while the tide undulates behind them.

Shouyou hoped that, like sunsets usually do, they would rise again in the morning. Whenever said hypothetical morning would be, anyway.

“You’ve changed my life,” Tooru said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Before I met you again I’d — I’d forgotten how much fun volleyball could be. Everything was awful and I really, honest to God _hated myself_. But you taught me value. You believed in me and told me I was worthy. You gave me purpose.” His shoulders shook again, his voice breaking. “Absolutely unforgivable of you,” he tried to joke, but the tears were too much. “Sweeping me off my feet like that.”

Shouyou shook his head, squeezing Tooru’s hand in his own.

“Even when I’m not with you, you’re always worthy,” Shouyou told him gently, brushing the tears from his face with a soft finger. “You’re just as incredible as I say you are, if not more. I would wake you up with a kiss and tell you every morning if I could.”

Tooru buried his face in Shouyou’s neck, and he could feel the tears soaking his shirt. He rubbed Tooru’s back comfortingly, his own tears falling down his face. He wished it didn’t have to be this way. He longed for many more sunsets with Tooru, and he wasn’t looking forward to the ones he had to watch alone. The brunette brought him back to the present by standing back up and checking his watch. Shouyou was unfortunately reminded that Tooru had a flight he was supposed to be on soon.   


“It’s still eleven, so not noon yet,” Tooru mentioned, raising his eyebrows suggestively. When Shouyou didn’t get the hint, he dropped his voice, eyes looking shyly at his shoes. 

“Could you . . . Could you tell me now?” Tooru asked hesitantly. The two were much closer now, and Shouyou’s hands immediately slid to the front of his chest. Shouyou understood, and couldn’t help the smile that came to his face. 

“Tooru Oikawa,” he breathed, voice earnest and full of truth, “you’re incredible.”

And he fisted his hands in Tooru’s shirt, tugged him down and _kissed_ him.

Shouyou had been here before. And that was so completely _unfair_. He’d been in this position already once, knuckles going white as he gripped the shirt of the one he loved, wetness plastered over his cheeks while their tears mixed together and their lips crashed against one another. This was far too familiar for his liking. Why did he have to go through this again? Why, why, _why?_ God, it was so unfair. His heart ached so much he thought it would burst as he thought back to that day Tobio Kageyama had shown up on his doorstep, and turned his world upside down. And now, the pain was a sharp burn in his chest as he kissed Tooru Oikawa deeply on a crosswalk in Brazil. It was like _deja vu_ , or some sort of really fucked up nightmare that just repeated over and over again. The kind that had you crying for days after. But somehow it was real, and Shouyou wondered how those days would turn into weeks, maybe months, even.

“Shouyou,” Tooru murmured quietly, and Shouyou could feel it coming before he even said it. He said it first.

“I’ll be okay,” Shouyou replied quickly, blinking away the sudden well at the back of his eyes. “Just . . . Just say you’ll remember me.”

Tooru blinked, eyes widening with surprise. Shouyou could tell he’d just stolen the words from his lips by the way they parted and closed, soundlessly. However, the surprise was replaced with a sad, knowing smile.

“I could never forget you, Shouyou,” Tooru turned his head over his shoulder, staring straight at the sun for just a few moments before returning his gaze to Shouyou. “Every time I look at the sun I’ll think of you. I’ll think of you every time I hear the word Brazil, or Apollo, or sunshine or radiant, or even whenever I heard that stupid J-Lo song. Especially then.” He sighed, smiling to himself. “You’re unforgettable, Shouyou Hinata, and I love you.”

Shouyou could feel the sobs spilling over, but the smile grew on his face. His heart was sinking, but it rose just a little after Tooru’s assurance from the lips he would _so_ miss kissing. 

“I love you too, Tooru Oikawa,” Shouyou whispered, wiping his tears away yet again. _I think I might forever._

“Promise me you won’t forget me either,” Tooru lifted a finger to his chin, tilting his gaze upward from where it had fallen. “Say you’ll remember me, too.”

“Of course I’ll remember you,” Shouyou said immediately, almost defiantly. “I still have the shirt you leant me the first night. I’ll never forget our nights playing together on the beach, or in your room, or watching the sun set with you the first night we kissed. I could never forget. Even now when I watch the sun set I can still taste your drink on my lips.” He closed his eyes, picturing it in his mind and just slightly tasting it for a moment before opening them. “And you also got me that early birthday present.”

Tooru’s temporarily stunned face turned to an honest smile. “You better not open that until your birthday, you hear?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Shouyou chuckled. “I’ll call you when I open it.”

“Good, good,” Tooru ruffled his hair, and Shouyou could see it flash over his eyes that it was probably the last time he would do that in a while. The _lasts_ just kept piling up, and Shouyou thought that if he thought about them too much he just might break down right now.

So instead, he closed the distance between himself and Tooru, pressing himself into Tooru’s chest and throwing his arms around him. He listened to the way Tooru’s heartbeat spiked, appreciated the warmth of his closeness for the _last_ time.

“Thank you, for everything,” Tooru said into his hair. Shouyou nodded numbly against him.

“Thank you, too, for all you’ve done, and all we did together,” he said. “I won’t forget a single second of it.”

“Me neither,” Tooru affirmed. After a moment longer of just holding each other, appreciating the feel of the other’s body against theirs one final time, they pulled apart, their contact breaking and the distance between them becoming a canyon once again. Tooru took a deep breath, raising his eyes and shooting Shouyou a slightly wobbly, though challenging smile.

“I’ll be seeing you on the court sometime, you know,” he reminded him. “I’m going to beat everybody, and that includes you.”

Shouyou brightened instantly, a smile overtaking his features as well.

“That means I’ll be seeing you again, Great King,” he said. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“So will I,” Tooru replied, his eyes shining. “I love you, Shouyou.”

“I love you too, Tooru,” Shouyou’s grip tightened on the strap of his bag. “You take care of yourself, okay?”

“You too, sunshine,” Tooru raised his hand in a sort of two-finger salute, taking them off his forehead in a smooth motion. “We’ll meet again, Apollo.”

As much as Shouyou was tempted to follow after him, he rooted himself to the spot, waving him away with a smile on his face. They’d agreed to split up at where their paths deviated from Tooru’s walk to the airport and Shouyou’s delivery route. He watched Tooru’s retreating back, his luggage trailing behind him in a familiar red suitcase. If he squinted hard enough, he could still see the little alien keychain hanging off the handle, and he smiled to himself. Though the sadness was starting to creep in, Shouyou decided to leave a good portion of his moping for later that night. Instead, he continued along his route, a new determination in his eyes. He would be going to the beach later.

Lover or fling or whatever he was, Tooru Oikawa had sworn to beat him, and Shouyou Hinata just couldn’t let that happen.

———

It was around two in the morning in Japan when Hajime received a text from Tooru Oikawa. Actually, it turned out to be several texts, in rapid succession.

**hey, iwa-chan!!**

**it’s been a few hours since**   
**i boarded but i’m on the way**   
**to argentina again**

**what’re you up to?**

Hajime noticed his lack of mentioning a certain short ginger, and found this to be unusual. He figured some prodding would do.

**i’m with tobio**

It was true. The setter was asleep with his head in Hajime’s lap, the television turned down to just become background noise. They had been watching a movie, but Tobio had fallen asleep in the middle of it in Hajime’s lap, and the latter decided to pause it for another time. Tobio had had an especially long day at practice before another training session with Hajime, and he was very reasonably exhausted. Hajime made sure to treat him well afterward, of course, but not with anything racy. He made dinner, tucked Tobio into a blanket on the sofa, practically spoon-fed him against his grumbled protests, and insisted that he relax and that if he needed anything, Hajime would get it.

So of course, it was only a matter of time before Tobio had ended up in his current position, blanket pulled tightly close to him while his head rested on Hajime’s lap, snoring softly and drooling just a little bit onto Hajime’s boxers. He was so cute, it wasn’t fair. He absentmindedly stroked his hair while he read Oikawa’s reply.

**isn’t it like two in the**   
**morning there?**

**he’s asleep, so i can’t move**

**oh, understandable.**

**you’re making me miss**   
**shouyou even more**

Ah, there it was.

**sorry.**

**it’s not your fault**

**im sorry for bringing it up**

**i should just let you be happy**

**it’s just . . .**

**god, everything hurts iwa**

Hajime frowned. Heartbreaker or not, Oikawa was still his best friend. He wanted to take care of him. It was an innate sense that had been there even since they were kids. Picturing Tooru Oikawa cry was like feeling a stab to your heart and your stomach at the same time. Hajime wondered how much he’d cried that day — probably a lot, if he’d moved on to the stage of actually talking about his feelings for once. 

**it must have been hard**   
**to say goodbye, huh?**

**hard doesn’t even cut it.**

**i think i launched into an**   
**impromptu speech about**   
**ten times**

**i just couldn’t help myself**

**i had so much i still wanted**   
**to say, but not enough time**

**there’s never enough time**

**i agree**

**there’s not**

**im sorry for complaining and**   
**encroaching on your time with**   
**tobio-chan**

**i hope he’s doing well**

**and that you’re doing well**

**and that the two of you are**   
**doing well**

**you know**

**together**

**if you’re even together**

**i don’t know i just assumed**

**anyway i’ll shut up now**

**maybe i’ll go see if i can throw**   
**ramos off the plane and make**   
**it look like an accident**

**then shouyou could replace him**

**and id have my sunshine back again**

**. . .**

**god i’m pathetic**

**tell me i’m pathetic**

Hajime frowned at his phone.

**why would i do that?**

**i don’t know. maybe it**   
**would help**

**you’re not pathetic.**

**now you’re just being**   
**stubborn, iwa-chan.**

Hajime smiled at the familiar teasing, his heart giving a small lurch in his chest with nostalgia. He could imagine Oikawa’s soft, amused, but sad half-smile in his mind. 

**i’m always being stubborn.**

**but i mean it, really.**

**you’re not pathetic, and  
don’t forget it.**

**you and shouyou are going**   
**to give me a god complex**

**you mean you didn’t  
already have one?**

**ouch, iwa-chan**

**meanie**

**yeah, yeah, whatever**

**i’ll leave you be now, but i**   
**hope you have a good night**

**and go to sleep, damn it**

**you should be cuddling that**   
**little brat, not talking to me**

**you have him right there**

**i’ll get right on that, thanks**

**let me know when  
your flight lands, okay?**

**sure.**

**goodnight, iwa-chan!**

Hajime decided not to say it back, given that the sun was probably still up in South America. As he put his phone down, he noticed Tobio was awake, staring up at him curiously.

“Who’re you talking to?” He asked sleepily, yawning like a cat.

“Oikawa,” Hajime replied, placing his hand back in Tobio’s hair and stroking it softly. “He just left Brazil a few hours ago.”

“Oh,” Tobio said, his voice suddenly sounding choked and hollow. He cleared his throat, his voice unsteady, like he was trying to subdue his concern. “Do you . . . Do you think Hinata’s okay?”

“You’d know better than me, wouldn’t you?” Hajime traced a finger up Tobio’s cheek. “He’s resilient. I think he’ll be okay after a while.”

Tobio nodded, his eyes fluttering closed once again. “I think so too.”

Hajime suddenly moved to stand up, lifting Tobio up into his arms.

“This couch is too small for the both of us,” Hajime murmured into his ear. “We’re going to sleep on the currently available and perfectly comfortable mattress in the bedroom.”

“I always forget how much that room smells like vanilla until I go in,” Tobio yawned. “Given that the rest of your apartment smells like smoke. Not that I mind, but isn’t it a bit weird that an athletic trainer subjects himself to cigarettes?”

“I do what I want,” Hajime rolled his eyes. “Hence why I’m carrying you into the bed, right now, and I’m going to cuddle you. Fiercely.”

“Fiercely,” Tobio repeated, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “Alright then, Hajime. Give me your worst.”

He pulled the two of them beneath the covers, wrapping his arms around tightly around Tobio’s middle. He buried his nose into Tobio’s neck and inhaled the familiar scent of clean clothes and blackberries. Hajime loved that smell. He kissed the soft skin at the nape of his neck once, twice, before repositioning to allow himself room to breathe. He tossed his leg over Tobio for good measure, eliciting a chuckle from the younger of the two.

“It doesn’t make sense how a hot, ripped athletic trainer can be so cute,” Tobio remarked, snuggling backward into him. “But I’m not complaining.” He lifted one of Hajime’s hands to his lips, kissing his knuckles with care.

“Goodnight, Hajime.”

Hajime was glad Tobio was facing away from him; he would have made fun of the blush that spread across his cheeks.

“Goodnight, Tobio.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cries in oihina but laughs in author who knows what’s coming*  
> anyway, more pain because i just like to share my suffering. I hope you liked this, or hated it. Either works for me, haha.   
> Thank you all again for your support! A couple of you have said you’d made playlists for this fic and that seriously makes me so happy because so much of it is based on music.


	10. reconnect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so close, yet so far.  
> two pairs consider reconnecting with their counterparts, while the same two pairs wonder if this is really okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a filler chapter that took WAY too long to write, mostly because it’s kind of boring but it’s IMPORTANT so please still read it.

  
  


“Tooru!”

Shouyou had never picked up the phone faster.

“Hey, sunshine. I’ve missed your voice.”

He was staticky from the other end, reminding Shouyou of how far they were apart, but the sound was welcome nonetheless. He’d been looking forward to hearing it all day.

“You literally called me at twelve in the morning to wish me a happy birthday!” Shouyou protested, smiling to himself. They’d called pretty much every day around 7 in the evening, sometimes earlier depending on Tooru’s schedule, but Tooru always made time to talk to him. They texted each other frequently as well, Shouyou usually asking how he’s doing now that he’s back in Argentina, and Tooru replying that it would be better with him there, but it wasn’t all that bad.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t miss your voice,” Tooru teased, and Shouyou could hear the smile in it. “And besides, now that it’s not some ungodly hour, you should really open your present now.”

Shouyou was already holding the box in his hand. It was small, flat, and red. Tooru had given it to him the night before he left as an early birthday gift, since he wouldn’t be able to celebrate with Shouyou the following week. Now, Shouyou was twenty years and a few hours old. His knee was bouncing excitedly.

“Right now?”

Tooru laughed.

“Right now, Shou,” he chuckled. “Neither of us are getting any younger.”

Shouyou laughed as well, hooking a finger beneath the lid of the box.

“Okay,” he breathed. “Three, two, one!”

He pulled it off carefully, even though the box wasn’t delicate, he just thought anything Tooru gave him should be treated with care. He examined the contents of the box, eyes widening when he realized what it was. Daintily, he took the object by the chain between his fingers, holding it in front of his face. He smiled, eyes falling on the pendant at the bottom.

The pendant necklace was silver, and the pendant itself was a silver crown studded with aquamarine. It was elegant, powerful, and beautiful. Everything about it screamed Tooru, and Shouyou started to feel tears well up behind his eyes as his smile grew.

“Do you like it?” Tooru asked from the other side, voice betraying his nervousness. “It’s kind of cheesy.”

“God, Tooru, I love it. It’s - it’s _perfect_ ,” he breathed, holding it close to his chest and closing his eyes softly. He wasn’t going to cry. He _wasn’t_ going to cry, damn it. “It reminds me so much of you.”

“I have one for myself too, but it has the sun on it instead of the crown,” Tooru told him cheerfully. “I like to think I’ll always have some sunshine close to my heart, and now you’ll always have me close to yours.”

Shouyou couldn’t help it, a few tears falling down his cheeks. He didn’t want Tooru to know this — he didn’t want to worry him, so he made sure his voice was steady as he replied.

“Really? You’re so sweet,” Shouyou felt his whole body warm. He sighed, though it was bittersweet. “I wish I could hug you right now.”

“Me too,” Tooru’s tone held the same one as Shouyou’s sigh. “Happy birthday, Shouyou.”

“Thank you, Tooru,” Shouyou smiled. There was a pause where the two of them were reminiscing about their time together, imagining being in each other’s arms again. Shouyou often found himself looking at the door of his apartment and wishing Tooru would just walk in one day, shout “surprise!” and kiss him deeply. It was unreasonable, of course, but Shouyou liked to dream.

“How was practice today?” Shouyou asked, hoping to keep the conversation going.

“It was practice,” Tooru sounded bored. “Volleyball isn’t as much fun when you’re not on the court. Ramos pissed me off again — I really almost punched him today, but I didn’t want to get a talking to and be late to call you tonight.”

Shouyou chuckled. “I’m glad I can keep you from snapping even if I’m far away.”

“I was texting Iwaizumi on the way back about throwing Ramos off the plane and making it look like an accident,” Tooru mused. “And then you could have replaced him. I’m disappointed that I missed the opportunity.”

Shouyou laughed. “That would have been awfully convenient. I’d be kind of intimidated to love a murderer, though.” He raised an eyebrow, tone light. “How are you and Iwaizumi, anyway?”

Tooru hummed thoughtfully. “We’re alright. I don’t think he hates me anymore, and he seems really happy with Tobio-chan.”

“I’m glad they’re happy, then,” Shouyou stifled down the pang in his heart. It wasn’t jealousy anymore — he was genuinely happy that Kageyama had found somebody that would care for him. He just missed his best friend.

“Has he talked to you today?” Tooru asked. “Kageyama, that is?”

“Yeah, he called me earlier this morning,” Shouyou chuckled. “They’re a day ahead of us, so I made fun of him for being late.”

He recalled their conversation fondly.

When the phone had first started ringing, Shouyou was surprised. His toes were already in the sand, and he’d just arrived at the beach. It was mostly deserted, as it was pretty early in the morning.

“Hey Bakageyama,” he picked up, a smile on his face despite his surprise. “How are you?”

“Sore,” Kageyama said shortly, then quickly amended, “from training, that is. Hajime’s been working me pretty hard. Wait, I mean—”

Shouyou laughed at the rising panic in his voice.

“I get it,” he replied, deciding to let the accidental innuendo slide. “I’ve been training a lot too. I’m at the beach right now, actually.”

“Already? Jeez, what is it, seven in the morning?” He could hear Kageyama’s frown — he was never a morning person. 

“Yeah,” Shouyou yawned. “I’m trying to get in an hour or so before work today.”

“It’s your birthday, idiot,” Tobio chided him. “Quit working yourself so hard.”

Shouyou pouted. “But I like volleyball! It’s the best part of my day, now that—” _now that Tooru’s gone_. “Now that I’m by myself again.”

There was a moments pause. Kageyama cleared his throat from the other end.

“I’d — I’d visit if I could,” he said.

Shouyou’s heart gave a painful squeeze in his chest.

“I know,” he said softly.

There was a silence again, then,

“Oh, happy birthday, by the way,” Kageyama said awkwardly. “That’s the reason I called you in the first place.”

Shouyou laughed teasingly. “Isn’t it the day after over there? You’re late, Tobio-chan.”

“Don’t call me by Oikawa’s nickname, dumbass. I’m trying to sync with your time over there!” Kageyama retorted, and the familiarity of his irritation was oddly heartwarming. “Let me be considerate!”

“I didn’t know you knew big words like ‘considerate,’ Kageyama,” Shouyou grinned. “Don’t think too hard, your few remaining brain cells will fizzle out and die.”

“You know what? Screw you,” Kageyama replied with fire, but Shouyou heard the smile in his voice. “I’m booking a flight over there right now to kick your ass.”

“Ushijima wouldn’t be too happy with you,” Shouyou reminded him. “The Olympics are less than a month away. What, like two and a half weeks?”

“Don't remind me,” Kageyama groaned. “Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. It’s like I’ve embodied your spirit or something because I feel the need to puke up all my nerves before games.”

“Awww, Kageyama!” Shouyou chuckled. “How thoughtful of you to take over as the pre-game-vomit-threat while I’m gone.”

Kageyama scoffed. “It’s not like I have a choice.”

Shouyou relented, deciding to give him some sympathy. “You’re going to do great, Kageyama! Aren’t you like, the best setter in Japan?”

“I’m working on it,” Kageyama replied bashfully.

“You’re Tobio Kageyama, King of the Court,” Shouyou reminded him enthusiastically. “Nobody can take you down. Especially with an ace as good as Ushiwaka! You guys have pretty much already won.”

“I miss your confidence,” Kageyama chuckled, though somewhat sadly.

“I just miss you,” Shouyou said truthfully. “And not just because Tooru’s gone, or anything. You’re still my best friend, and it kinda sucks not hearing you call me _boke_ every day. I’ll come visit you as soon as I get back, okay?”

“Okay,” Kageyama repeated, and Shouyou couldn’t tell over the phone, but he sounded like he was thinking deeply about something. “I’ll look forward to it.”

Shouyou pressed his lips together. He should really ask if Kageyama was okay, but at the same time he didn’t want to push into anything that wasn’t his business. He decided to respect his privacy for now, and as the conversation was coming to a close now was probably the time to hang up anyway.

“Thanks for calling me,” Shouyou said brightly, hoping his silence hadn’t given away his worry. “It’s nice getting to hear from you.”

“Sure,” Kageyama said. “Thanks for staying. I’ll talk to you— whenever I’ll talk to you.”

Shouyou let out a little pffft in amusement at Kageyama’s awkwardness.

“Bye, Bakageyama.”

“See you, Boke.”

“It was nice getting to talk to him again,” Shouyou said, returning to the present. “We haven’t called in a while.”

“That’s good to hear,” Tooru said, as as far as Shouyou could tell, he was being genuine. “That you got to talk to him again, that is. I’m sure you still miss him.”

“Yeah,” Shouyou admitted, sighing. “You probably miss Iwaizumi too, huh?”

“I do,” Tooru replied, sighing as well. “Maybe I’ll call him sometime, but not now. It’s your birthday, remember? What are your plans for the night?”

“I don’t know yet,” Shouyou mused. “I think Pedro and I might get dinner somewhere, and then I’ll go and take a nice walk on the beach. I was playing all day today and I’m kind of exhausted, to be honest. I had fun though, so it was worth it.”

“How are the beer brothers?” Tooru inquired, his voice grinning for him.

“They might miss you more than I do,” Shouyou chuckled. “Every time somebody plays on my side of the court they always slander them for not being ‘Watanabe Ken.’ I don’t think they actually know what your real name is.”

Tooru laughed from the other end of the phone, and the sound made Shouyou’s heart jump for joy. He could picture Tooru laughing in his head; could see the creases of his smile, the way his shoulders hunched. Shouyou convinced himself that if he visualized Tooru enough in his head, he wouldn’t fade away.

“They’ll find out eventually, when you and I play in the Olympics,” Tooru said, and though his tone was light it was both a promise and a challenge nonetheless, one Shouyou intended to meet. “They’ll be surprised to see us playing against each other, though.”

Shouyou wondered who his team would be if he were to play for Japan. Kageyama and Ushijima, obviously, probably Hoshiumi too. Bokuto, Atsumu, and Sakusa would probably be there too, as they also played for Japan, but on a different team. That team, the Black Jackals, was the one Shouyou was hoping to join when he returned to Japan. One, it was guaranteed that he’d get to face off with Kageyama, and two, he’d get to play with Bokuto, who he missed greatly.

“I’m looking forward to that,” Shouyou smiled to himself. “And after we play we can all go out and get drinks together. It’d be like a great big reunion. I’ll introduce you to Bokuto-san — I think he’d like you — and when we get tired you can come home with me or I’ll go home with you and we can hold each other when we fall asleep.”

“That sounds great,” Tooru sighed peacefully. “Whenever I feel like punching Ramos again, I’ll keep that thought in mind.”

“You’d better,” Shouyou teased. Their conversation drifted from one subject to another as they enjoyed the sound of each other’s voices, the little contact they had over far too many kilometers. Despite how much Shouyou missed him, he was happy to at least have this, and now, the pedant necklace he put around his neck. Despite the coolness of the metal against his skin, the crown felt warm against his heart, and he supposed that that was all that really mattered.

After a final “thank you, I love you, Tooru” from him and a “of course, happy birthday, Shouyou. I love you too,” from Tooru, there was silence from the other end of the phone. Finally, he let the tears fall down his cheeks, but his lips were pressed into a smile not of his own accord. The whole thing was bittersweet, really, but if that was all Shouyou could get, he would take it.

———

Tooru sniffled into his shirt when the call ended, wiping his eyes on his already damp sleeve. God, he was such a mess, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. It hurt like hell, but in Tooru’s opinion, it was completely worth it. He could feel Shouyou’s warmth radiating through his voice, he could feel his smile against his ear and it gave him no reason to complain.

He wished he’d get to spend Shouyou’s birthday in his company, absolutely spoiling him senseless because that was what he deserved, but he supposed he could settle for a long, sentimental phone call. He hoped Shouyou liked his gift, and he fingered the gold pendant he himself was wearing. The metal was warm, as he’d had it on for quite a while, and he smiled to himself through the tears.

It was almost like he was there.

Tooru decided to get out of bed, wandering around his familiar flat once again. A few things had collected dust in his absence, which he hadn’t bothered to clean up the first day. He felt like maybe if the dust kept accumulating, then it would be like he’d never left Brazil at all. However, this notion became unreasonable the next day, when he was sneezing every five seconds and had to spend a good chunk of his day dusting off his shelves and table surfaces with a box of tissues at hand for his sneezing. Now, they looked cleaner than ever in the gentle light of the lamp, spotless. He’d been very thorough, as he was with most things.

He looked at his phone, still in his hand, and settled into the chair beside his desk. He vaguely wondered what time it was in Japan. The time difference was simply a matter of a.m. and p.m., and so he took it upon himself to surmise that it was around 8 in the morning. Hajime would probably still be sleeping. Or, maybe not, because he’d been far more productive now that his job had been added to the picture.

Hajime had certainly changed a lot since the last time they’d seen each other, from what Tooru could gather from his messages. Sure, he was still grumpy, and unnecessarily mean, but Tooru liked that about him. But now, he was reminding Tooru of himself the way he threw himself into his job, but also into his own personal life. His messages to Tooru had regained some of their old, jibing nature, opposed to the short, clippy responses he used to get. Tooru could only guess that Hajime and Kageyama’s connection had made Hajime want to reach out to Tooru again, perhaps repair their friendship.

Tooru wondered if that was just wishful thinking.

He looked at his phone again, and promptly decided there was one way to find out.

He hadn’t called Hajime in a long time, and Tooru hoped he wasn’t pushing it by calling him at eight in the morning. His fingers were shakily dialing his number before he could even think about it. He was torn between wishing he was asleep and would ignore him and hoping that he was awake. Tooru wasn’t even sure what he would say — he just wanted to talk to his best friend again.

His breath hitched as the tone clicked on the fourth ring.

“Shittykawa?”

He steadied his breathing. Why had he done this again? Reconnection, right.

“Hey, Iwa-chan,” _Christ_ , why was his voice so shaky? “How are you?”

There was a pause from the other end, as if this were a particularly tough question to answer.

“Um, fine?” He said it like a question, and quickly amended it. “I’m not fine, I’m great, actually. Work is good, I’m good, Tobio’s good. I’ve even gotten permission to oversee and help with their practices for the Olympics. I guess I was just wondering why you’d asked. Or, actually, why you _called_ to ask.”

Tooru wasn’t sure he wanted Hajime to know the sentimental reason why he was calling him. He was never good at saying exactly what he was thinking, and he was lucky Hajime could read him, even as his voice slipped habitually back into a teasing lilt.

“Aren’t I allowed to be concerned about my best friend?” He inquired.

Much to his relief, Hajime chuckled on the other end.

“Of course you are,” he said, his tone light. “We just haven’t talked in a while. I was surprised, to say the least. But I’m glad you called.” 

“I hope I’m not bothering you, or anything,” Tooru bit his lip. At least that was honest.

“Nope,” Hajime said, popping the P and sounding like he was in a surprisingly good mood. “I just got out of the shower. I went for a run this morning with Ushiwaka — something I never thought I’d find myself doing, by the way. It was impossible to keep up with him. I genuinely think he slowed down to make me feel better. He’s oddly considerate, behind that stoic expression.”

Tooru chuckled at the imagery, finding Hajime’s sudden talkativeness endearing. “Sounds like somebody else I know.”

“I’m not stoic,” Hajime protested, and Tooru downright laughed.

“Sure, you can tell yourself that,” he grinned, the amusement comforting him. “I’m glad you’re doing well. It’s kind of relieving not to be constantly worrying about you, but I suppose I have Tobio-chan to thank for that.”

“Yeah,” Hajime agreed, his voice drifting off slightly. Tooru felt guilty for the song of hope that it was uncertainty he was hearing, and not adoration.

“Are you two dating yet?” He asked, hoping to make amends to himself for his own selfishness. 

“I— haven’t properly asked him to be my boyfriend,” Hajime admitted. “We’re just, kind of here, I guess?”

“Hajime,” Tooru scolded him.

“I know, I know,” Tooru could practically see him pinching the bridge of his nose with irritation. “I guess I’m just scared. I don’t know if either of us can handle a commitment like that and I’m really only in this area until the Olympics.”

“Why don’t you just move to Tokyo?”

The words were out before Tooru could even think about them. No matter how much it stung a little in his chest, he really did want Hajime to have someone in his life who could care for him. Especially if Tooru couldn’t. There was a pause from the other end before Hajime emitted a disbelieving chuckle.

“Never in a million years would I have expected you to encourage me into pursuing a relationship with Tobio Kageyama,” he replied.

Tooru laughed, and it might have just been his own ears deceiving him, but it sounded a bit rueful even to himself.

“I just want you to be happy, Hajime.”

There was another pause.

“You’re a good person, Tooru,” Hajime said slowly, as if he’d been formulating the words for a while and was still unsure about admitting them aloud. “No matter how many times anybody tells you otherwise, including yourself. You bring out the best in people, and you want what’s best for them too. I — I still couldn’t ask for a better best friend, or a better setter.”

There was another, even longer pause. Tooru was about to reply, but something in him, an old instinct, told him Hajime had more to say. So he pressed his lips together anxiously, waiting patiently for the other to continue.

“Tobio is my lover, almost-boyfriend, whatever you want to call it,” he said this steadily, almost too steadily, and Tooru could start to taste blood from how hard he was biting his lip. Hajime paused again, shorter this time, before saying,

“But you’ll always be my _partner_ , Tooru. You always have been. In friendship, in volleyball, in life, and,” he swallowed thickly, from the other end, Tooru could hear it, “when I see you again, I don’t expect you to let him take that spot in my life so easily.”

Tooru wasn’t sure what to say. A fire inside of him immediately lit up at the challenge, the prospect of it tantalizing. But was that really what he wanted?

_Shouyou . . ._

 _Was too good to be true,_ he reminded himself. _Was too good for him, was definitely too good to be his._ So was Hajime, of course, but they knew each other better than they knew themselves. Tooru knew Hajime like he knew how to tie his shoes, and Hajime knew Tooru like he knew how to wrap bandages around a protesting patient who would frequently deny his knee injuries because he was afraid of feeling weak. They knew each other, and as much as Tooru hated to admit it, he’d only let Shouyou scratch the surface.

He didn’t want Shouyou to think he was delicate — if he stripped himself down to his fundamentals and his fears, put everything in him on display for Shouyou, Tooru wasn’t scared Shouyou would leave him. He was scared Shouyou would exhaust himself trying to care for him. Tooru didn’t want to be the reason his sunshine faded away. _He_ didn’t want to be the cause of the disappearance of light in Shouyou’s eyes.

Hajime, on the other hand, he _knew_. He’d seen Tooru at his worst and treated him just as he had at his best. Hajime had put up with his bullshit for years, and no matter how much they fought or how much he had to watch Tooru cry, he’d never left or complained about it being too much. He could handle Tooru, and might have been one of the only people who could.

He was steady, reliable, something that Tooru could count on, but not too much, because he didn’t want to erode at Hajime like he had before. He was better now, in a more peaceful state of mind, and he trusted that when they met again, it wouldn’t be quite like before. Friends or more, he was glad to know he still held the value that he’d used to in Hajime’s heart.

“Sure,” he said finally, after the long silence that ensued, feeling more like himself than he had the past few days. “Challenge accepted, Iwa-chan.”

———

_I just want you to be happy, Hajime._

The words played over and over in his head.

He knew Tooru meant them, knew that he did genuinely want whatever was best for Hajime. He supposed it was just unusual that said best didn’t involve him. After all, up until a few years ago, everything in Hajime’s life had involved him. Perhaps that was what had made him say what he had, about Tooru being his partner. It was true, of course, but he hadn’t expected himself to admit it out loud. They’d hung up about an hour ago, after Tooru mentioned that he should get some sleep before tomorrow’s practice. Now, Hajime had an open morning, devoid of plans until Japan’s practice later that day.

Tobio had been the one who’d gotten him in, even though it was on accident. He’d let it slip that Hajime had been training him in private (probably after Ushijima asked why he had trouble walking) and Ushijima had promptly requested that Hajime oversee their practices and discuss with their coach. It was an eye-opening experience, to say the least, getting to work with an entire team of powerhouses instead of one-on-one, and he had to reprimand himself several times for watching Tobio for too long. With just over two weeks until the big games, they wanted as much help as they could get, though Hajime hardly thought that they needed it.

He was pleased, though not surprised, that Tobio was in the starting lineup as their setter. This obviously put a lot of pressure on him, pressure that Hajime was not hesitant to relieve, after practice, but Hajime believed he’d earned the spot fair and square. He was happy to help Tobio train in his free time, but never overworking him, and then they typically went back to one of their apartments and took a shower before snuggling up on the bed or the couch and simply falling asleep until it was time for dinner.

Hajime wondered what his life would be like after this. It hung in the back of his mind that he would have to move back to his old apartment hours away, but Tooru’s suggestion cracked open the window of possibility. Why didn’t he just move to Tokyo, anyway? After the Olympics, his ratings and popularity were sure to skyrocket (he said this because he had full faith in Japan’s team to make him proud). Not to mention, he’d have more business opportunities and he’d be closer to Tobio. Their time together wouldn’t be as frequent, sure, but he’d be within driving distance for a weekend or so together, when their schedules allowed it.

He spent the morning on his balcony searching for apartments in Tokyo. He had a cigarette between his fingers, but it was the only one he planned on having that day. He’d never explained his old habit to Tobio, though he hadn’t exactly asked about it either. Hajime had picked it up in college, ironically, while studying about the negative effects that drugs had on the body. He’d just been so stressed about school, and the long distance relationship that was slowly slipping away from him, and the smoke was an easy way out.

Nowadays, it had become something he’d treat himself to every so often, just to ease his mind a bit. He wasn’t anywhere close to his previous near-dependence on it, and he chalked up to self-improvement and getting his shit together.

Tooru always got on him about his smoking. “You know that stuff kills you,” he’d said, but Hajime hadn’t paid any mind to it. It was sort of his fault that he’d even started in the first place, so he told Tooru he had no room to talk. It was around then that their fights were starting to get worse and worse, yet shorter, because of Tooru’s demanding schedule. It had only been a month or so after their initial argument that they decided to split.

Hajime found himself wondering what his life would be like if he was still dating Tooru. He’d probably have pulled out all his hair by now, for sure. But then again, he never imagined he and Tooru would last long anyway. As soon as he announced he was going overseas, it was like the self-destruct button had gone off in his brain. He stayed in Japan, and watched with a heavy heart as his best friend took off to a future that probably didn’t involve him as much as he’d liked it to. Now, however, he didn’t quite mind. There was nothing for him in Argentina, nothing except Tooru, and Tooru wasn’t even his anymore.

He didn’t mind that either. Though he certainly had at first, their separation led him to realize just how much of his life revolves around Tooru. He was glad he’d taken the path best for himself, not because he was selfish, but because it was what he needed. Now that he’d gained a better sense of identity and a goal, he was content to reconnect with Tooru again. The Tooru he knew wouldn’t sit idly and watch as somebody took his place as Hajime’s one-and-only, and so it had greatly surprised him when he’d done just that on the phone.

Perhaps that was another reason he’d issued the challenge. Tooru wasn’t acting like himself. He’d given up, in his own, unique way. It’s not that he didn’t want Tooru to get over him, it was that he didn’t want Tooru to lose his usual fighting drive. He didn’t want Tooru to lose that motivation that everyone so admired. That he so admired.

He thought for a moment that perhaps Tooru had lost his pride in the streets of Argentina, until the familiarly arrogant, “challenge accepted” had buzzed through the other end.

Tooru couldn’t see him at the time, but Hajime had smiled.

———

“Hey, Tobio.”

Hajime brought him back to attention as they two of them walked back from practice together. His mind had been slowly transitioning out of game-mode, recounting the things he had to improve on for next time, and even sometimes congratulating himself on the things he felt he did well. Constructive criticism wasn’t constructive if you didn’t take into account the good things you did in addition to the bad ones. Hajime had really helped him reinforce that into his mentality, especially with the pressure of the games weighing heavily on his shoulders.

He was the starting setter, which was quite a bit of weight, but Hajime assured him it was nothing he couldn’t handle, and he believed him. Especially with such an incredibly team backing him up, Tobio felt a lot more confident than he had a few weeks ago. He could thank Hajime for that.

“What is it?” He inquired. The two of them were strolling at a leisurely pace, Tobio still catching his breath and neither of them really having anywhere to be except with each other. Tobio liked that. He would miss it in a few weeks time when Hajime had to move back after the Olympics, but he didn’t want to think about that on top of everything else going on.

“How would you feel about me moving to Tokyo?” He asked.

Tobio stared at him, eyes wide.

“Were you reading my mind?” He asked suspiciously.

Hajime laughed, and Tobio appreciated the way his eyes seemed to glint in the lighting of the surrounding streetlamps.

“No, I wasn’t reading your mind, but I think we’ve been having similar thoughts,” he closed the distance between them by seeking out Tobio’s hand, to which Tobio vaguely wondered why he hadn’t been holding it earlier. “How would you feel about it?”

“I’d like to be able to see you on short notice,” Tobio surmised, smiling down at their entwined hands. “But I’d hate for you to move if it’s just for me.”

Hajime shook his head. “Don’t worry. It’s good for business too. After you all win at the Olympics my popularity will go up and I’ll get way more opportunities in Tokyo than I would back where I live. Besides, if I end up getting an official spot as a trainer for Japan’s team, I’d already be close to headquarters.”

“That would be nice, then,” Tobio squeezed his hand approvingly, his heart lifting. Maybe he didn’t have to worry about Hajime leaving after all. They settled into a peaceful silence as they walked down the pavement, hand in hand.

“You were great at practice today,” Hajime told him, as he always did. “I thought that one toss you made to Ushiwaka from the side was impossible, but once again, you pulled it off flawlessly.”

Tobio smiled at his shoes, leaning over and hiding his blush in Hajime’s shoulder.

“Shut up,” he grumbled, in what he hoped was a convincing way. It wasn’t, because Hajime let go of his hand and wrapped his arm around Tobio’s shoulders instead. Tobio melted into his warmth, even in the humid summer evening, and he sighed happily. 

“Today was a good day,” Hajime was smiling too, when Tobio dared to look up at him, and he couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“What did you do today?” Tobio inquired. Hajime hummed to himself mildly.

“I looked at apartments, for one,” he said. “But before that, Oikawa called me. And before that, I went on that run with Ushiwaka. Absolute hell, by the way, I feel sorry for you.”

Tobio chuckled, noting the way Hajime had brushed past his call with Oikawa. He usually didn’t do that, typically because he wanted Tobio to trust him (which he did, completely) and so he tended to detail out their conversation for Tobio. Since he didn’t, Tobio wondered what it had been about.

“What did you and Oikawa talk about?” He asked. “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine too.”

Hajime shrugged. “He just called to check in, I guess. He asked how I was, I told him I was great, you were great. He said he wanted me to be happy with you. He’s actually the one who suggested I move to Tokyo, so I can be closer to you.”

“Really?” This took Tobio by surprise. “That’s . . . mature for him.”

“It is,” Hajime mused. “He sounded a bit . . . resigned, I think. Like he was giving up. I think now that we’re starting to reconnect again, he’s afraid he’s going to get totally replaced. Is it . . . is it weird that I feel bad about it? Is it weird that I miss being with him?”

Tobio shook his head immediately. “Not at all. You’ve been best friends since you were kids. I still feel that way about Hinata. Not like, I’m in love with him, or anything, just that I miss seeing him all the time and going to get meat buns after practice like we used to.” He stared down at the sidewalk contemplatively.

“When I called to wish him a happy birthday, it was so easy to fall back into conversation with him again, yet _not_ at the same time,” he continued. “Like there were things I wanted to say, but I didn’t know if I could say them. If it was acceptable to.”

Hajime nodded, as if he understood.

“The same thing happened with Oikawa and I,” he said. “We’ve all grown a lot as people. Our personalities have changed since the last time we’ve seen each other. We just have to get used to the shift in dynamics, I think.” He paused, turning to look at Tobio seriously, his gaze intense but soft at the same time. “Are you okay with me reconnecting with Oikawa? Does that trouble you? Because if it does, I can—”

“No, it’s okay!” Tobio said quickly. “I trust you, and even if your feelings toward either of us do change, I really just want you to make the choice that you won’t regret later on. Feelings are confusing. We can talk about them, together, if the time comes.” He paused, to make sure he agreed with his words, and when he found he did, he continued. “Are you okay with me still talking to Hinata?”

Hajime nodded. “Of course. The same thing applies for you. If anything comes up, we can talk about it,” he squeezed Tobio’s body into a side hug before relaxing his arm. “I still care about you indefinitely, but there’s no pressure for you to do the same. We’ll figure it all out in time, okay?”

Tobio turned his head to press a quick kiss to Hajime’s cheek.

“I care about you too,” he said softly, basking in the warmth of Hajime’s reassurance. “Thank you.”

The two of them made it back to Hajime’s flat a few minutes later, and as usual, Tobio clambered on top of Hajime on the bed and absolutely refused to move. Hajime thought this was amusing, as usual, and wrapped his arms around Tobio after he’d set an alarm for 7:30 to start making dinner. Tobio was happy, here. He was happy that his life was going so well, happy that he had somebody here who understood him even when he didn’t. He kissed Hajime’s forehead appreciatively, even though he’d already fallen asleep. Tobio took this as the cue to muzzle further into his neck, inhaling the sweet scent of vanilla mixed with a hint of smoke, and sighed contentedly.

He felt his body practically turn to mush as he closed his eyes, letting sleep wash over him like gentle waves on a beach somewhere far across the world, where a certain, ginger-haired idiot was probably already smacking away at whatever came his direction, his feet covered in sand.

Perhaps he was watching the sunrise, and the image let Tobio drift off into sleep.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that! Thank you all so much for your patience and your lovely comments! Hopefully the next few chapters come a little quicker because I have those planned out better than this one was.


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